A New Beginning
by storyteller-xo
Summary: Takes place 7 years after BD, Leah has come back to visit La Push area, but there she finds something she never expected to find. Please review, I want your opinion. My first fanfic, so tell me what you think. Enjoy!  Rated T because I'm paranoid...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one: "Why should I hang around here when all I want to do is vomit?"

Ugh. That smell had been etched onto the very fibres of my mind. The sickly sweet odour of _vampires._ Those bloodsucking leeches my brother was so fond of. You'd think that after six months away from it I would have forgotten. But no. Of course not. It seems I'm doomed to having a good memory. But maybe it was the proximity to the Cullen coven that forced me to remember that smell. All unpleasant memories resurfaced whenever I got closer to my old home. That was why I spent so much time as a wolf those days; I could just forget about everything. That, and the fact that I couldn't stand being within a ten mile radius of 'imprinters' and 'imprintees.' They were just so happy all the time! It was completely disgusting! I hated visiting the area. I had to though. Visit, I mean. Mom would never have let me leave if she knew I wasn't planning on returning any time soon. Just a quick visit, a few days, and then I would leave again. I would become a wolf once more, and feel the soft earth beneath my feet, and feel the wind race past my fur... Oh no. I just caught Jacob's scent. Unfortunately for me, he also caught mine. And obviously, he decided to follow me.

_**Leah! Hey! Slow down!**_

_**No, Jacob. You know I don't want you here.**_

_**Aw, c'mon. Just say hi? **_

_**Nope.**_

_**Please? Just phase, come and see Nessie, and Seth at the house too! He'd want to see you!**_

_**No, Jacob!**_

_**PLEASE? **_

Jake was getting closer to me - I hadn't realised I'd been slowing down.

_**...UGH! FINE! But just for a little while okay? I need to say hi to Mom, and you know how she gets if I don't say hi within two hours of arriving.**_

_**Sure, sure. I'll get Bells to find some clothes for you – they'll be by the big rock next to the forest, okay? I know you don't like being in your human form, so thanks. I was afraid I'd have to use my Alpha power on you!**_

_**Yes, Jacob, oh holy one... Thank you for the clothes. Appreciate it.**_

_**No problem. Meet you there!**_

And the sense of awareness, of another presence inside my mind than my own, was gone as he phased back to human Jacob. I was free inside my mind.

A pleasant idea occurred to me: I _coul _just go straight to mom's without seeing Seth. Now Jacob was no longer in my mind, I could run away. After a moment dwelling on that, I decided I'd better not. I'd managed to visit last time without seeing my happy-go-lucky brother. He'd probably track me down myself if I didn't see him this time. Oh well. It was a nice thought while it lasted.

I headed towards 'the rock', where even from this distance I could see a pile of clothes waiting for me. I poked them with my paw, ascertaining that they were jeans and a t-shirt, about my size. I took them in my jaws and loped off towards the forest, trying to ignore the horrible vampire odour seeping out of the material. Looking around, a short way into the forest, I phased back into my human form, and got dressed. I wandered towards the little cottage where I knew Jacob would be waiting for me.

As soon as the small house came into view, I was hurled to the ground by something that came from my right, crushing my ribcage. Coughing slightly, I groaned,

"Seth, get off! I think you just broke some of my ribs." To which my younger (yet taller – when did that happen?) brother jumped to his feet and extended a hand to help me up, which I took reluctantly. "Are you going to attack me again? Or am I free to walk now?" I asked him sceptically.

"Naw, s'okay. I just miss my sister! And since you _ditched_ me last time, I think I have the right to a more enthusiastic greeting!" Seth explained. I rolled my eyes.

"So, are we going to stay outside, or do I have the pleasure of entering the vampires' lair?" I wondered sarcastically.

"Ummm, no. We're going inside. They want to see you." Seth mumbled. Seeing my expression, he added, "Don't worry! Bella and Edward went up to the main house. It's just you, me, Jake and Ness." I wrinkled my nose, slightly appeased, slightly annoyed that we were going to be entering the horrible-smelling house.

"So," I said, as we got to the front door, "How can you stand the smell? Really, it's burning my nose from the inside."

"You get used to it," he shrugged. I rolled my eyes once more, and entered the house.

I tried not to show it, but I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. The house was..._quaint_. There really was no other word for it. It looked like it belonged in a fairy tale. Well, there were _more _than enough fantastical creatures present. Sitting on the sofa was Jake and Nessie, giggling; at something vomit-worthy I'd assume. How they both fit on the sofa together was beyond me. Jacob was huge! At least seven feet tall! And Nessie was, as usual, though I hated to admit it, beautiful. She now looked about seventeen, probably reaching the end of her giant growth spurt. And, clearly, by the way she was draped around Jacob, her feelings towards him had changed since the last time I saw her. Noticing our presence, she quickly shuffled away from him, embarrassed.

"Hey Jake. Again," I smiled somewhat grudgingly.

"Hey Leah," he grinned, pulling Nessie back towards him and kissing her forehead.

"Nessie," I nodded, to which she smiled in greeting, before getting distracted by Jake once again.

"Ugh you guys! Again? Really? Please!" Seth groaned. Clearly this was a regular occurrence.

"Hey, you don't have to watch," Jacob mumbled against Nessie's cheek, before staring at her once more, and smiling a beam of joy so strong it was hard to bear, then leaning towards her again.

"Sure, but we can still _hear_," Seth pointed out, interrupting. Jacob smiled, not at all abashed, but pulled away, stroking Nessie's nose once before he turned to look at us.

"Still against the whole imprinting thing?" He asked me.

"Um, pretty much, yeah." I admitted.

"It's sort of wonderful," he sighed. "The connection between the two people is just-"

"Ew, gross, Jake. Don't start going all mushy on me. I used to always be able to count on you to be miserable. Now you're just a hopeless romantic," I teased. He threw a pillow at me, which I dodged easily.

"Okay, um, we're gonna go visit Mom now. Leave you two in peace," Seth said, rolling his eyes. Eye-rolling clearly ran in the family. "C'mon Leah. I don't wanna be around these two anymore." He grabbed my wrist and we left the cottage.

I was suddenly a bit scared. Now it was time for the really hard part. Explaining to Mom that yes, I was here to visit, but yes, I would be leaving again.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two: "Forget it. I'm going. Don't try and stop me."

"Are they like that all the time?" I asked Seth as we walked side-by-side along the gravel road towards our house.

"Well...Not _all_ the time," he admitted with a shrug, not wanting to tell tales on his idol, no doubt.

"Sure seemed like it," I muttered darkly. I expected Seth to just ignore me and carry on, but I was not anticipating his reaction. He took a deep breath, and then started to speak, gaining volume with each word,

"So what if they are like that all the time? What's your problem Leah? Do you get a kick out of other people's misery or something? They're in _love_, that's all! Stop being so...unhappy all the time! Get over yourself! There are other people in this world besides you, you know!" He broke off, panting. His hands were shaking slightly. I looked down, and saw that mine were shaking too.

"You finished your rant?" I snapped, after a while. Seth exhaled sharply, his usually smiling face a mask of sadness.

"You needed to hear it, Leah," he whispered.

"But from you?" I demanded.

"Maybe," he shrugged, "You needed to hear it from _someone. _Dude, you have to get over Sam. I know you've tried –"

"No. You can't say that. Yes, I'm unhappy. Yes, I'm not exactly in a good place. But I _am _over Sam. Really," I admitted. Seth raised his eyebrows sceptically. I growled, "I. Am. Over. Him. Ugh! Why won't you believe me? It's not _him _that's making me unhappy. To be honest, I've given up trying to make him pay. It's not his fault. I know that. I just want him to be happy, whoever he's with... What bugs me is imprinting. The fact that you don't have a choice. The fact that practically everyone in the pack has a 'soul mate'. The fact that I'm never going to be loved by someone anyway; imprinted or not." I turned away so he couldn't see my face. Usually I kept up the tough façade, but every so often I would forget, and let something slip.

"I'm sorry Leah. I didn't know you felt that way," Seth mumbled. Then, attempting to lighten the mood, he added, "If it helps, you know I love you. Just, not in that imprinting way, 'cause that'd be creepy," he amended quickly. I smiled to let him know that he'd been forgiven. By that point, we were at the door to the house. I exchanged a glance with my brother. We nodded, and then walked in, where we were greeted by a shriek of joy and lots of hugging.

As the day came to a close, we were surrounded by empty plates and many happy people. There was Mom and Charlie, recently married, and acting like a pair of lovesick teenagers. I came back for the intimate ceremony last year. Somehow, Charlie still did not know about the Cullens being vampires, though he knew about the werewolves. He was strong enough for that. Most people in Forks were under the impression that the Cullens had moved house, gone to university, were travelling the world, but really they still lived in the same place as before. They would have started to cause suspicion, what with the whole 'not ageing' thing. Renesmee had been to school on the reservation for a few years with Seth, and Jacob was there for one year too. She was only allowed to go once her growth rate had slowed down enough. It's weird, because with Charlie married to my mom, Nessie was actually, in a way, my niece. Confusing?

Paul and Rachel were there too, with their eight year old son Kai. Paul had really grown up those past years; I gave him credit for that. Becoming a dad at eighteen was a shock for him. A shock for everyone, to be honest. Kai liked to play with Claire, who was also at the house, with Quil. Claire was nearly ten at that point. Unluckily for him, he had to wait another eight years or so before her feelings towards him would turn somewhat romantic. But at that moment, Quil was being a supportive best friend to her. Jared and Kim weren't there – they were on holiday in Hawaii. It was their first holiday with their young twins, Logan and Lara.

The hardest part for me was watching Sam and Emily with their family. Their oldest son, Luke, was eight, they had another son called Toby who was five, and another child on the way. Looking at their family, laughing and having fun, made me think about what _could _have been. I stood up quickly and went out to the beach. I sat on a driftwood bench, with my head down. It seemed everyone had that special someone. Except me.

After a while I was joined by someone. I didn't lift my head to see who it was. He just sat there next to me, our arms touching, and no other noise apart from his heavy breathing and the gentle lap of the waves on the shore. We sat there together for a short time. I realised I had tears on my cheeks. I reached into my pocket to find a tissue, when I saw that a familiar hand already held one. He offered it to me, and I took it carefully.

"Thanks Sam," I whispered, looking across the ocean. He just nodded. A few minutes later, I turned to face him, and started to speak once more. "Sam, I'm-I'm-I'm so sorry. For everything. For blaming you. For making your life miserable." Sam looked me in the eye and just said, with a small smile,

"I know." I sighed. Why wouldn't he be annoyed at me? I started again,

"Bet you're glad I haven't been around for these past few years. At least I wasn't making you unhappy." Sam's forehead creased into a frown, as he replied,

"No, I'm not glad. I miss you when you're not here Lee-Lee. I know that it will never be the same again, but I hope you know that I do still care about you. And I guess I still love you, in a way. I just...I have my own life now. And you should make more of an effort to have your own. It's time to start living again Leah." My eyebrows rose slightly in surprise. He missed me? He loved me still, after everything I did? I didn't expect that. I took a deep breath and said,

"You're right. You _do_ have your own life now. But I'm not going to be able to move on like you have. I'm not going to imprint. I'm a freak of nature." Sam's head shot up when I said that, and he shook his head as he replied,

"No Leah. You're not a freak of nature. There _is_ someone out there for you. Just...Be patient. I _know_ you have a soul mate, somewhere. And I bet he's just as unique as you are." He added with a smile.

"You _know?_" I asked sceptically, "How exactly?"

"I don't know," he admitted, then, smiling, "It's an Alpha thing. You wouldn't understand." He winked at me then, and I rolled me eyes.

"Oh, lord Sam, with your almighty power," I muttered. He chuckled quietly, and I gave a short giggle. I was amazed – that was the first time I'd laughed with Sam since he'd chosen Emily. I sighed in wonder.

"My Alpha senses are also telling me that there's a storm coming. We'd better get back to the house," Sam pointed out, grinning. He reached out his hand hesitantly, and I took it to help myself up. We walked side-by-side back to the house, where Seth was waiting, impatient.

"Where were you two? We want to eat the cake!" He exclaimed. Sam smiled at Seth and I, then, bending slightly to get through the doorframe, he disappeared from view. "Wait, that was Sam," Seth observed, then asked quietly, "So, are things good between you now?" It took me a minute to answer, and I said,

"Not entirely. But they're getting there."

It seemed only a few moments later that I was preparing to leave. Of course, I had stayed with my mother at the house for nearly a week – longer than I had been planning on staying – but I still felt the familiar tugs of sadness as I hugged her as a way of saying goodbye. True, I did enjoy spending time with my family, when they weren't being irritating at least, but I started to feel excited about returning to my wolf-self. Naturally, Mom tried convincing me to stay longer, as she did every time I visited, but as always, I refused, only somewhat placating her by assuring that I would be back within six months. With a sigh, she released me, looking me up and down, and trying for one final effort to keep me home,

"Please Leah. Just another few weeks or so. We've barely seen you – you've been at the beach most days," she pleaded. She knew my answer even before I shook my head. Truthfully, I had been avoiding my family as much as possible. I couldn't bear to be surrounded by such radiant happiness – it was almost sickening, but mostly just saddening for my part. I hated to admit my weakness, and as much as I took pleasure in seeing the people I loved happy, I just couldn't stand being around them when I knew that my own fate would not be nearly as cheerful. However, I brushed those feelings aside, and switched them for my hard-faced demeanour, wanting to show my mother that I was strong. I spoke directly to her,

"Really Mom. There's nothing for me here. I'll visit, I promise. I'll be back before you know it. Honestly. Bye." I looked at her one last time, gave a wave, and then started the walk up the driveway with Seth, my companion for the remainder of the afternoon.

"What do you want to do before I take off?" I asked him in an effort of being casual.

"Well. Jake will probably want to say goodbye. We'll visit him at the cottage."

"Okay..." I agreed unwillingly, thinking about how he was last time I saw him. I didn't really want to be with him if he was planning on spending the entire time snuggling up next to Renesmee.

"Don't worry," Seth explained, seeing my face and reading my thoughts, "He's alone there. Nessie has gone up to the house to greet her parents. They just came back from a weekend-long hunting trip."

"Really?" I wondered if Edward knew about Jacob staying at their cottage during the weekend, then voiced my question, "Edward allows Jacob to stay there? While he and Bella aren't around?"

"He trusts Jacob – to an extent. Much as he wishes he didn't. I don't know. Besides, I don't think he _completely _trusts Jake not to try something while they're away. Alice stays in the cottage when Edward and Bella aren't there," Seth explained to me. I nodded in understanding. We reached the small clearing where the cottage was situated, and in a few strides were inside the small house.

"Leah! Hey there," Jacob called, turning the TV on mute. He had an empty packet of king-size Doritos next to him, the remnants of which were sprinkled down his shirt. There was also a half-empty bottle of Coke on the coffee table, and a triple-decker sandwich balancing precariously on a plate. I made my way to the sofa, upon which he was sprawled lazily across. He grunted, swinging his legs round to touch the floor so that Seth and I could fit on. It was a tight squeeze – I had a difficult time squashing myself between both boys. I looked pointedly towards the food, and turning to face Jacob – with difficulty – I said,

"Dude. One day in the future you're gonna wake up and find yourself obese. Seriously, all you boys eat so much!"

"Comes with the territory," he shrugged.

"Well_ I'm_a werewolf and I don't eat half the fridge in one meal."

"You're a girl," Seth said, peering round my back so we could see him, "You have stronger willpower than we do." I rolled my eyes and faced the silent TV.

Suddenly, the front door opened, and we all turned to see who it was. Bella entered the house, not at all surprised by Jacob's company.

"I thought I smelt wet-dog," she smiled, "Really, if you spend any more time in my house, I'm never going to get rid of the smell!" I wrinkled my nose in response. _She _didn't smell too good either. Bella started to talk once more, "I just came to get you Jacob. Esme has made some omelettes, and I don't think Ness, uh, Renesmee will be able to finish them by herself. But it looks like you've already eaten," she said, eyeing the plates surrounding him.

"Always room for more," Jacob said, patting his impossibly flat stomach.

"And you two, Seth, Leah, feel free to take some food; from here or up at the house. We have no use for it," Bella offered. A few moments later, Bella's phone rang, and it was at her ear before I had a chance to process that it had rung.

"Edward?" She asked, moving away from us. Even with my sensitive ears – though not as sensitive as my wolf ears – I couldn't hear exactly what was being said, just that Edward sounded agitated. I wouldn't have been able to understand anyway; both Edward and Bella were speaking so fast their words turned into a blur. Within thirty seconds however, she was back, next to us – a little too close for my liking in fact.

"I have to go," she whispered, and was out the door before we could blink.

"What?" Seth asked, puzzled, looking at me. Jacob jumped to his feet, and growled,

"Nessie!" He too was out the door at inhuman speed. We heard him transform into a wolf just outside the door. My brother and I looked at each other, and then sprinted after him, changing to our wolf forms also.

As we were flying through the forest, we felt Jacob inside our minds. He was incredibly worried, his thoughts incoherent. He reached the house before we did, his presence in my mind disappeared abruptly, and a few seconds later, Seth also disappeared. I slowed to a walk. There was no point in me being there. Soon though, my curiosity overruled, and I phased back to human form, locating some clothes I had stashed earlier on, and wandered towards the big white house in the meadow.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three: "He might want to kill you. Sorry."

I entered the Cullen house, hearing a buzz of voices, and my nose was practically burning from the stench. The first thing I saw was Jacob, his arms around Nessie protectively. Bella was standing in between Alice and Edward. Seth was hovering by the grand piano, looking anxious. I walked towards him.

"What's happening?" I whispered – though everyone in the room could hear me.

"Alice has had a vision. A vampire is coming to the Cullens. He wants revenge," he murmured, his face pale. I answered in a low voice,

"Is that some bloodsucker thing? Always wanting revenge? Seems every vampire I've met wants revenge for something or other." Seth just shrugged, and swallowed loudly. It took me a second to realise that Seth was _afraid. _My brother, afraid? He never got scared – it just wasn't his thing. "Seth," I started hesitantly, "What's wrong? Why are you so frightened by this vampire?" Seth didn't answer. I wondered if he'd heard me. I was feeling very worried by then. Then, he took a deep breath and replied,

"It's Riley. One of the vampires who helped to build the army of newborns a few years back. The vampire I tried to kill."

It took only a second for me to understand. Seth was afraid that the leech would want to kill him. I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind,

"But, even if he does want to kill you, he won't recognise you. You were a wolf when you were, um, attacking him last time."

"Sure, he won't know straight away that it's me. But he will remember my scent – I might be the only werewolf he's ever come across. I'm not sure that smell is something you forget easily, not to mention the fact that vampires have great memories. I'm doomed." And he slumped onto the piano stool, starting to sniffle. Yes, that's right. _Sniffle. _I hesitated, torn by my desire to leave the uncomfortable situation and with the need to make my brother happy again. I perched on the stool next to him. It was usually Seth comforting me, not the other way round. That's why I found it a little difficult to console him. I tried my best,

"Seth...You don't know for sure that's why he's coming," Seth's sniffles started to slow. I carried on, reassured by my apparent natural talent at comforting, "I mean, the vampire could be coming to kill _all _of us, not just you!" Seth took one look at me, his tear-filled eyes wide, and buried his head in his hands, now not just sniffling, but completely bawling. I stared at him, horrified by what I had evidently done to him. Okay. Clearly, there had been a reason that Seth had been doing the comforting all these years. Soon, my mind started to wander. Sure, he had stopped ageing at sixteen years old, but technically, he was twenty three by now. I had an image in my head of Seth as a middle-aged man, bawling his eyes out. I snorted, unable to hold it in. Seth looked at me in disgust, stood up and walked towards the sofa, where Edward was now sitting with Carlisle. Still chuckling slightly, incapable of stopping, I murmured to myself,

"It was the moustache that did it." I looked up, and received a very odd look from Blondie. Oh. I'd forgotten they could hear me.

It took a while before Seth could be consoled enough that he would stop crying. Blondie kept darting evil glances at me, looking at me as if I'd kicked a dog or something. Sometimes, I stared back at her, trying to convey my message that it was a brother-sister thing, and she wouldn't understand. She hated werewolves, but she preferred Seth to me. She even went over to him at one point, and was sitting relatively close to him, trying to 'comfort' him. I desperately wanted to leave; leave the house, and just leave the area. If I'd have had it my way I would have been halfway to Alaska by then. As it was, I felt I couldn't leave Seth while he was so sad. It looked like Mom had got her wish. I would be staying for a little while longer. At least, I would be staying until Seth finally got a hold over himself. Or when the vampire had been disposed of adequately. Whichever one was to come first.

Finally, when Seth was calm, Alice explained to us all in her chirpy voice, what she had seen in her vision.

"I wasn't really searching for anything. Well, I guess subconsciously I was searching for things that would endanger our family. Suddenly, Riley appeared. I recognised him from some of my visions back when we had those problems with the newborn army. He'd made some sort of snap decision to visit us. He looked angry, and like he had a purpose. To me, it looked like he wanted revenge. I can't be certain, obviously, but I'm usually right about these things."

"I think he wants revenge too," Edward said. After all, he'd already seen Alice's vision for himself when he was busy poking around other people's heads. I looked up and met his gaze, somehow I felt guilty. Why? There he was again – poking through _my _head.

"It's sort of an involuntary thing Leah. I can't help hearing you if you're shouting. Especially when I hear my name in your thoughts," Edward snapped. Woah. Cranky. I decided to try something. _Hey, Edward, dude? Yeah. I'm talking to you. Well, thinking to you, anyway. _I'm_ the moody one around here. Don't try to steal my crown. I've worked hard to gain it._ I looked up again to see half a smile on Edward's lips. From that point on I began to sing in my head. Just to irritate him. _There's a she-wolf in your closet, open up and set her free, there's a she-wolf in your closet, let it out so it can breathe. _I think Edward gave up on me then.

"Well that's great, he wants revenge. But who does he want revenge on?" Jacob questioned from the corner of the room.

"We can't be sure. Not until we actually see him. There could be many reasons," Carlisle spoke, and then added, "He could want revenge on Seth, for trying to kill him. Or on Edward, for helping the attack. He could want to kill Bella, to avenge Victoria's death, mate-for-mate, ironically enough, considering that is why Victoria wanted to kill Bella the first time around. He could want to kill all of us for stopping the newborn army. There really are a multitude of reasons." Everyone sat in silence for a while. I had shifted towards the window, where a breeze was coming in, free from Eau du Vampire. Seth's stomach growled. Everyone looked up, smiling slightly.

"Of course! I'm so sorry – I completely forgot!" Esme rushed out of the room, and came back not five seconds later, holding three plates, each with a giant omelette on - which, I have to say, smelt surprisingly good – and headed straight for Seth. She handed one plate to him, one to Jacob, and, shyly, one to me.

"Thanks," I mumbled. She nodded vigorously and went to join Carlisle on the sofa. All was quiet for a while, apart from the scraping of forks on plates. I hadn't noticed anything was wrong until Edward's voice whipped out,

"When, Alice?" I looked at the tiny vampire, who was staring, a blank expression on her face. Her mouth was open in a perfect O of horror.

"Tomorrow," she murmured.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four: "Not without me you won't!"

Personally, I didn't see why the vampire visit was such a problem. Sure, he was probably thirsty and was filled with rage, and there was a big chance that he wanted to kill at least one of us, but really, what was that to a coven of eight vampires, a half vampire and a pack of werewolves? We could easily have taken him down before he had even entered the state. Carlisle though, always the peace-maker, wanted to speak to him first and find out his problem, and see if he posed a threat to anyone. He didn't want the other vampire to die unnecessarily.

"So. What's the plan, doc?" Jacob asked cheerfully.

"Well, I suppose I'll meet him, and talk to him. It would be useful if Edward comes along too, his mind-reading skills always come in handy," Carlisle explained.

"Uh, no way!" Bella cried, "I am not letting my husband go there unprotected. I want to be there. I can shield both of you."

"Bella, it really won't be a problem," Edward said quietly.

"Fine. Bella, you can come with us too," Carlisle stated, defeated.

"You expect us to let you guys go there and have fun? What if it turns into a fight? I want to be there if it does!" Emmett complained.

"And I'm not leaving you," Nessie said to her parents.

"And _I'm _not leaving _you._", Jacob announced.

"Anyone else want to declare themselves?" Edward asked, smiling slightly.

"Well, if it _does _turn into a fight, Emmett often gets carried away, so I want to be there too," Rosalie proclaimed.

"And, to be honest, if the vampire wants to kill me, then I should be there. Man to man. Or, wolf to vampire. But, same thing," Seth said ferociously.

"You're not going there without me," I muttered to him.

"Okay then! Looks like everyone is coming. A nice family outing," Carlisle said sarcastically, exasperated. He began to talk quietly with Esme and Rosalie, and the other occupants of the room continued doing what they were doing before Alice's vision. I was a bit confused. I knew he was joking, but it sounded weird to be considered part of Carlisle's family.

"He does think of you that way. Strange as it sounds. You've given us your loyalty, and so much more these past years. You're all our family," Edward said to me. I rolled my eyes, irritated that he had been poking through my head again, but also slightly happy that the doctor thought of me that way.

Nessie and Jacob were irritating me again. I found myself constantly avoiding being around them. It's not like they were actually doing anything though! They were just calling each other lovey-dovey nicknames, and speaking in weird voices, Nessie kept showing him things with her special 'gift', and then they both collapsed into fits of giggles. It was sickening to watch them. Sickening, and heart wrenching too. I was in desperate need of someone to laugh with _me_ like that, someone with whom I would be comfortable around, someone who made me happy just by being with him. I would look around the room, trying to find something else to look at, but seeing nothing except happy couples everywhere I turned. Were they there to torment me with their undying love and happiness? What had I done to deserve such misfortune? Rosalie and Emmett were leaning over something with lots of wires at the table. Edward and Bella were standing talking, and Alice and Jasper were upstairs – I could hear their voices buzzing above me. My eyes rested on Seth, who was sat between Carlisle and Esme, perfectly at ease and joining in with their conversation. Why couldn't I be more like Seth? Open and happy and selfless? He had clearly got the good genes. I wandered over to Jacob, where he was laughing with Nessie. I cleared my throat, then said,

"Um, Jake? I'm going outside now. Just...need some air." He nodded to show me he'd heard, then went back to face Nessie. With that, I left the house, unable to stay there a moment longer.

After an uneasy night's sleep in my wolf form, I woke up to weak sunlight sifting through the clouds above. The first thing I heard was Seth's thoughts, awake and waiting for me.

_**Oh, Leah, finally, you're awake. I've been waiting for you. Everyone else is up at the house. They're planning on leaving soon, so if I were you, I'd get my furry butt up to the house. **_

'_**Kay. **_Then I realised, still half asleep,_** Wait. I don't have any clothes.**_

_**Esme left some out for you by 'the rock'. She gave them to me so that I could try and mask the scent. She doesn't like you feeling uncomfortable.**_

_**Oh. Well, that was nice. I guess.**_

_**Yep. Now, I'm gonna go eat my breakfast – I'm starving. Join me in a minute?**_

_**Sure.**_And so Seth disappeared from my mind. It didn't take me long to locate the – surprisingly not particularly bad-smelling – clothes and get changed into them. I looked towards the big white house in the meadow, and thought _this is going to be a long day. _I was right.

We set off towards the Olympic Mountains. It would be cold, but no one needed a coat. We either didn't feel the cold, or had thick fur coats that would do the trick. Seth and I were in our wolf forms, but Jacob was human, wanting to run with Nessie. Alice was wandering along, a blank look across her face as she searched for when and where the visiting vampire would be. After a couple of minutes of running, she turned to face us and said,

"He'll be at the foot of a mountain with an overhang above him. I think he's waiting. He knows we're coming. It's quite close in the future. I can't tell for sure. But less than ten minutes ahead." We all sped up. Soon, we slowed once more, and I saw Alice exchange a look with Carlisle, who stopped, and turned around to speak to us,

"I know you wanted to come with us. But you are allowed to back out now. It's okay." For a while, no one answered, until Seth whimpered slightly. Jacob, seizing his chance, said,

"There. Why don't you stay here with Seth, Nessie? You'll both be safe here. Away from danger."

"And away from you? No way," Nessie moved closer to Jake.

"You know I don't like to leave you..." Jacob murmured.

"Yes, I do. So don't leave me," Nessie retorted. Jacob's face twisted in pain.

"Okay then. I'll stay. But, it's my duty, as Alpha, to make sure someone is there to represent our pack," Jacob turned to look at me, "Leah? As Beta, you have to go with them to see the...visitor. Okay? I'll be in my wolf form so we can communicate, alright?" I was surprised Jacob was putting so much trust in me, but flattered also. I bowed my head.

"Right. Shall we go then?" Carlisle asked, clapping his hands together.

"This'll be just too easy," Emmett growled, flexing his biceps menacingly.

"It might not come to a fight!" Esme mentioned, as we started walking again. I felt uncomfortable, to say the least, to be surrounded by so many vampires. At any point one of them – I was keeping my eye on the blonde girl - could turn around and attack me. Not that I wouldn't put up a fight, but I'm sure Nessie wouldn't like it if I killed her aunt. I felt a tug, heading me towards this new vampire, one that I was surely allowed to kill. Suddenly, I picked up an unfamiliar sickly sweet smell, just as our party came to a halt.

"Hello there. I've been waiting a while," a clear, smooth, masculine voice spoke just ahead of us. I looked up into the face of this vampire who had tried to kill my brother, and was surprised by the amount of passionate hate I felt towards him.

"We have come to talk," Carlisle said quietly, taking a step forward.

"The time is gone for talking. I'll just do what I came here to do, and leave, shall I?" the unfamiliar blonde vampire sighed, "I came here to avenge my mate Victoria. She created me, you know. I loved her. I was planning on spending every moment of the rest of my life with her, until _you _convinced me she was lying about how much she loved me," he shot an evil glare towards Edward, then continued, "She loved me. In her way. Then, I find out she has been dead since that fateful day! It's taken me years to figure out that it was you, yellow-eyed one, who was lying. And to think, I let her die, while I cowardly ran away! I come here, ready to kill the human she herself was so intent upon killing, and I see that she is one of us cold ones! What a disappointment. It will be a lot more difficult, now she is nearly unbreakable. I will do my best." He sighed once more, and I could see he was nearing the end of his speech. My emotions continued to hiss at me, trying to tell me something important. I pushed my feelings aside, but every time I looked at his face I felt the anger again. It clouded my vision, and I forced myself to focus, and stop looking at his frightening, yet beautiful face. It seemed he had some sort of hypnotic power or something. He looked up towards the sky, and murmured, "I'm sorry Victoria, for taking so long to avenge you. But better late than never, eh?" And he turned slowly, his eyes glinting, his teeth bared. He bent down into a crouch, prepared to pounce. All of a sudden, from slightly in front of me, I heard Edward and Emmett simultaneously take a deep breath. As they both slipped into a crouch, something clicked inside my brain, and I realised something vital. They sprung through the air towards Riley, going for the kill. Suddenly, I found myself leaping forward and flying across the sky towards them, landing in a defensive pose in front of Riley. In front of Riley, my imprint.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five: "So, a little unexpected, right?"

I stood there, my teeth bared, a growl rumbling through my chest, for less than a second before Emmett crashed into me, knocking me sideways. Seemingly without thinking about it, Riley rushed over to me, pushing Emmett out of the way. Emmett got up, shoulders heaving, and was about to leap once more, when Edward cried,

"Stop!" Emmett looked at him as if he'd lost his mind, and Edward continued in that moment of hesitation, "Don't hurt him! He's...Leah _imprinted _on him," he finished incredulously. I felt Jacob and Seth's surprise, but pushed their thoughts to the back of my mind. I winced. A few ribs were broken, I could tell, but they'd be back to normal by the end of the day.

"What?" Emmett muttered, moving away from Riley, shaking his head. All the while, Riley started to back away from me, confused as to why he'd acted to save me, as I had acted to save him.

"What?...What is that creature?...Why did I do that?..." He asked no one in particular, but then roared, "What's happening to me?" Carlisle stepped forward, and spoke in a calm, yet authoritative voice,

"Now, if you would just listen to us. There's something you should know." Riley continued to back away, but seemed upset that he was leaving me, and a look of anger crossed his face, as he shouted,

"WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME? Why do I feel...I can't...Is it your mind tricks? She told me about your mind tricks! Stop making me feel like this! I don't want...I don't understand!"

"Please, Riley. Just come with us," Carlisle said.

"I'm not going anywhere!" Riley spat.

"Well, if you would let me explain...Okay, Emmett? Please leave, he's clearly uncomfortable being around you – you're not making the situation any easier. Rose, you go with him. Go to Nessie and the others. Esme and Alice? Why don't you go with them? Jasper, you too, try to calm Emmett down," Carlisle offered. Carlisle, Bella, Edward and I were left. Riley relaxed slightly. He kept shooting glances at me, nervous and confused.

"This is going to be a long story," Carlisle told him.

"How will I know that you're not lying?" Riley asked.

"I don't like to lie, Riley," Carlisle said, smiling, while Riley read the apparent honesty in his eyes.

"Okay," he agreed with an abrupt nod.

"Perhaps Leah would like to explain?" Carlisle suggested, pointing at me. I shook my head ferociously. I'd need to phase back for that, and I wasn't quite prepared for that yet. My emotions weren't as strong when I was in my wolf form, for which I was grateful; I didn't want to deal with that yet. I looked at Edward, pleading.

"She doesn't want to phase back," Edward explained to everyone, "It's difficult enough for her emotions to stay under control in her wolf form, let alone in her human form." All the while, Riley became more and more confused, frowning; what was being said was not making sense to him.

"It's difficult to know where to start," Carlisle said, then continued, "This creature you see here is a shape-shifter, in this form, commonly named a _werewolf._In her other form she is a human named Leah."

"Why do I want to...kill it?...It's not a human; I can smell that...But I know I can't kill it, because killing it would kill _me!_..I don't..." Riley trailed off.

"The reason you want to kill her is because she is a werewolf. The werewolf is the natural enemy of the vampire," Carlisle explained, "And the reason you know you can't kill her, even as much as your survival instinct is telling you otherwise, is because she has imprinted on you. You, Riley, are her soulmate, and yet so much more than that." Riley's mouth fell open in shock, and he staggered backwards,

"No. You're lying. There's no such thing as 'soul mates' or 'destiny'. You expect me to believe that? What is this? Are you trying to lure me into your trap and kill me? Well it's not going to work." He didn't believe in destiny? We were more alike than I'd originally thought.

"Please, Riley. It's important for you to believe us. If you leave now, it might even cause you physical pain to be away from her," Carlisle reasoned, then continued with the explanation, "For some reason, these werewolves imprint upon other...beings. Whether it is to continue the pack through generations, creating stronger wolves, or ensuring survival of the current pack – no one really knows for sure. Since I have never been the subject of imprinting, I cannot say for certain what it is like; only that it is a very powerful emotion, a need to be with that other person forever, to never be apart." Carlisle finished his speech, and then added, "If you would come to our house, perhaps we could go into further detail? Maybe Leah could talk to you herself?" Riley slowly turned his head, and looked me in the eye, giving a small smile in spite of himself, then frowning, not understanding the reason behind his own smile.

"Okay," he agreed.

"Thank you. Well, follow me?" Carlisle said with a gesture of his hand. And so we set off back to the house, where I would be introduced properly to Riley.

I split off from the group on the way back so I could phase. The tremors down my spine had barely started when I realised something: it was too quiet. I hadn't heard Seth's or Jacob's thoughts for a while now. I felt sorry for them both; they'd had to deal with all my emotions when I first saw Riley. They'd probably phased back to human form so as to give me some privacy in my own head. That was nice of them. I phased back, and got dressed, then slowly made my way up to the house.

Before I even stepped through the door, Seth bounded over to me in his human form, and gave me another rib-crushing hug. I ignored the faint stabbings of pain where my ribs were healing. It took me a moment to realise why he was so happy; he was happy for _me. _He was happy that I'd imprinted. I gave him a smile, and he ran off back into the house. I took a deep breath and stepped over the threshold.

The very first thing I saw was Riley, standing by the staircase, perfectly still. I gasped. He really was exquisitely beautiful. His ashen skin was slightly luminescent in the weak rays of sunlight shining through the window, his dark blonde hair glinted in the light, his eyes were frightening, yet frightened, shining a dull crimson against the pallor of his face. His build was similar to that of Jasper; tall, lean, slightly muscular. I found my eyes constantly returning to his face, and I saw his eyes appraising me as mine had been appraising him. For a second, he looked straight into my eyes, and I think my heart stopped beating for a while. In that second, it felt like it was just him and me in the room, no, in the whole universe, and it didn't matter that we were the only ones in the universe, because life _could _only continue with him in it anyway, and so neither of us would ever be alone again. I could feel eyes on my back, and someone gasped from behind me as I took a step towards Riley at the same second he stepped towards me. I carried on walking towards him until I was less than a metre away. He slowly, hesitantly, reached out his hand and stroked my face. His icy fingers left behind a burning trail on my cheek; not at all painful, but questionably uncomfortable. All this time, his scarlet eyes never left my face. I noticed that his brow furrowed in thought, and he whispered in his luxurious voice,

"You're...warm. Really warm."

"Yeah. Werewolf thing," I whispered back. He gave a small smile, then, slowly once more, he reached out to take my hand. My heart went into overdrive, and suddenly I felt dizzy. The last thing I felt was a pair of cool hands catch me, and then everything went black.

"Is she going to be okay?" Riley asked, agitated. It bothered me slightly how happy I was that he was worried about me.

"Yes, Riley. She's going to be fine," Carlisle answered from somewhere above my head.

"We've told you: Carlisle is the best doctor in the area. Maybe even the world," another male voice said.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Carlisle said, abashed. I began to realise that this was the closest proximity I'd ever been to vampires. The smell was almost overpowering; all but one scent I could distinguish from closest to me. It was a sweet odour, but not at all sickly like how I was used to. Even already, I could distinguish Riley's particular scent from a crowd. My eyelids fluttered, and my eyes opened.

"Oh!" Riley exclaimed. He was leaning over me, looking worried. I sat up slowly, flexed my fingers and toes, and stood up. Everyone looked at me expectantly.

"I feel absolutely fine," I told them.

"I still don't really understand. If the werewolves and vampires are enemies, then why are we 'soul mates'? I need...to talk to you, Leah," Riley said, his eyes pleading and still frightened.

"Okay. I guess you need more of an explanation," I admitted. Riley and I headed towards the door.

"No!" Seth cried, jumping towards me.

"Seth! I'll be all right!" I said to him, pushing him away.

"Hang on. I recognise that smell," Riley said, pausing in the doorway, looking at Seth. Suddenly, he exclaimed, "You! It's you!"

"Yes. It's him. My brother Seth," I said, raising my eyebrows, challenging him.

"Oh. It seems we have much to discuss."

"We sure do," I replied, as we walked out of the door, much to the discontent of those behind me.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone. Sorry I've taken so long updating the story. I quite like this chapter, it's a bit random though, and kind of fast-moving. (Does that make sense?) If any of the following chapters are a little ****boring **** less interesting than the others, it's because it's leading up to something big. *Cue suspenseful music*. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. **

Chapter six: "I would like you to explain to me what the hell is going on."

We wandered together a couple of metres apart, into the forest, away from the prying eyes and ears of everyone else. It occurred to me that both of us could so easily kill each other in one second. That would be a problem, along with the many others I had already thought of. Riley, a typical vampire, killed humans. As a werewolf, it was my duty to protect human life. How could this work? I was busy dwelling on this when Riley spoke.

"Tell me everything. I don't understand this."

"Carlisle already told you most of it," I said, "But, well, imprinting isn't just about finding your 'love'. I can be anything you need me to be. I can be your friend, your sister, your protector. Whatever you need from me; I'll give it."

"Do I have a choice in the matter?" Riley asked impatiently.

"Not really. You can choose to walk away if you want. But you'll come back. It's too difficult for imprinted people to stay apart for long. I've seen it."

"All this...it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't seen you?" Riley questioned.

"I guess not, but we would have crossed paths again sometime. It is destiny's way of ensuring we're together," I answered. I almost chuckled to myself at how blasé I sounded about the whole thing. A few hours ago, I had been totally opposed to imprinting. I didn't believe it would ever happen to me. Now, I understood it far better. It was a special connection between two people, and this connection could only strengthen with time and distance.

"Well, that explains why I feel this sort of...bond...with you. But at the same time, I can hardly bear to be around you! My instincts are telling me to kill you right now, and I swear I would, but I need to know more, and my mind is telling me that I can't kill you," Riley tried to explain. I sighed, then started telling him more,

"To cut a long story short, many years ago, vampires threatened the existence of a human tribe, and so the werewolf was created to protect human life from these 'cold ones'. Vampires and werewolves are enemies. They can never live together without killing each other. As vampires come and go, so do werewolves. The 'magic' of the werewolves has been passed from generation to generation. Now, the Cullens here, the 'yellow eyes', don't harm humans. They hunt animals instead. They don't pose a threat to human society, and so we live in peace together. Other vampires have come our way, and we worked together to kill them. Under normal circumstances, you would have been killed too, back at the mountain. But one of the rules of being in a pack of werewolves is that none of us is allowed to kill the subject of another one's imprinting. I'm not sure how the other wolves would feel about not killing _you _though. That's going to be a little difficult to explain."

"Other wolves? There are more?" Riley asked, surprised.

"Oh yes. Quite a lot more. They are going to be very confused over what to do in this situation."

"Why should it matter? They don't have to do anything! It's not their business!"

"Except, it is. If you are threatening human life, then they have no choice but to kill you. But I imprinted on you, so they can't. If they do try to kill you...Well, they'll have to get through me first," I finished triumphantly.

"Does every wolf imprint?" He asked me.

"We didn't think so, originally. It was just a legend. Only Sam had imprinted-" For a second I froze. Sam! I searched my heart for my feelings for him, and found that they hadn't changed at all; just my newfound love for Riley was so much stronger and more meaningful. I didn't even know my heart was capable of such passion until he came along. My love for Sam was a mere echo of my love for Riley, and I was glad at last to finally have everything in balance. I realised this must have been how Jacob had felt with Bella and Renesmee. All those times I had mocked him for his sincerity in his love for Nessie, and now I felt the same emotions. I'd have to apologise for that at some point.

"Sam?" Riley wondered aloud, oblivious to my mind's wanderings.

"Um, the Alpha of the pack. Well, one of them. It's-" I stopped as I caught Riley's questioning gaze, then hurriedly continued, "Just let me finish. It's a long story. Sam imprinted, and gradually more and more of the pack imprinted, and we're not so sure it's just a legend anymore."

"Wolves seem...complicated," Riley muttered.

"Yes, they are. And there are so many things you don't know about us. It's just the case of whether you want to learn about us or not," I said. Riley looked me in the eyes again then, and I felt the power of his uncertain stare. His red eyes frightened me slightly, but I still couldn't call them ugly. They were beautiful; just terrifyingly so. He suddenly spoke with a passion.

"Yes. I do want to learn about you. I want to try to learn your way of life. I want to stay with you, Leah. No, I _need _to stay with you. I don't care what my instincts say. You've told me that vampires and werewolves can coexist. Well, here we are. Let's do it." We began to slowly walk back towards the house together.

"Oh, and by the way," I said as I remembered something, "You're going to need to change your diet."

The weeks that followed really were just Riley cramming all the information he could into his head. Seth had told Mom about my imprinting, and she was overjoyed that I was staying in the area. We were staying close to the Cullen house, because we needed to keep Riley under control, away from humans. It scared me that I wouldn't be able to do the simple act of bringing him home to show my mother. Riley was doing great, aside from the fact that he hadn't hunted yet. I noticed that when he was thirsty, and his eyes had turned a dark burgundy, he became more distant with me, and hardly spoke to me at all. Every time I tried to go near him, he would begin talking to someone else. I felt hurt, and Edward heard the pain in my thoughts. I was outside one day, after being rejected by Riley yet again, sitting on a rock, when I heard someone following me. A quick glance told me it was Edward. Our relationship had become slightly more amicable in these past few weeks, and I was nearly comfortable being around him. Nearly. He stood next to me, and started to speak,

"Leah, I can hear your thoughts, and I can hear Riley's. It's not that he doesn't want to be near you; it's because he's afraid to be near you. You know when we get thirsty, we're more irritable, more prone to loss of concentration. Riley is afraid he will lose focus when he's around you, and will kill you."

"Oh," I said, surprised. I was happy too, that Riley actually still liked me.

"He needs to hunt. The more thirsty he is, the more likely he is to snap," Edward pointed out.

"I know," I sighed, and then inspiration hit me, "Edward? Would you do me a favour?" I wondered if Edward, and maybe Carlisle too, would go hunting with Riley.

"I don't see why not. In fact, I'd be happy to. We'd better make sure we are well away from any humans. I'll speak to Carlisle," he replied with a smile, and then walked back up to the house. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against a tree, just thinking about everything.

Within a couple of days, Riley, Carlisle and Edward had set off to go hunting up in the mountains somewhere. I hoped they would take care of Riley. I really missed him, and the thought of something bad happening to him made my heart break. Riley himself seemed scared, yet relieved, to go hunting. He barely even said goodbye to me. They would be hunting for two days. It would be difficult for both of us to be apart.

At some point during his absence, I went to the cottage, where Jacob, Nessie, Seth and Embry were hanging out. Nessie and Jacob were otherwise distracted when I first entered, a fact that Embry and Seth had both noticed. They were sat on both sides of the couple, somehow squashed onto the sofa, and both wore expressions of utmost disgust.

"Ew guys," Seth mumbled.

"Yeah, we'd prefer it if we _didn't _see you sucking face," Embry shuddered.

"Hey. It's my house," Nessie said against Jake's cheek, "You can leave if you don't want to watch."

"But we were supposed to be watching the game! Not you two eating each other!" Seth cried. I chuckled from the doorway, then said,

"Seriously, do you ever stop that? I think you're scarring Seth and Embry."

"They're just jealous," Jacob replied, to which both Seth and Embry cried out in denial, and then he said, "Besides, don't you do this...sort of thing with Riley?"

"Uhh, no. Riley is...sensitive. We don't really do that..." I answered, blushing slightly.

"What you mean is 'he doesn't want to kiss you anyway'," Embry laughed.

"You know what? At least _I _actually have someone. At least _I _don't sit around playing video games and collecting action figures," I pointed out. While Embry scowled, Seth, Jacob and Nessie laughed. It felt good to make people laugh. I understood why Seth liked it so much. Nessie and Jake were now detached from each other, and I took a seat as Seth switched the TV on. It was going to be a long day.

I woke up from where I'd fallen asleep on the armchair. I opened my eyes blearily. Weak sunlight filtered through the windows, and illuminated the scene in front of me. Jacob was sprawled across the sofa, while Embry was in a half-sitting position, his arm draped over Jacob's legs. I stifled a giggle. Seth had slid down and was leaning against the sofa, snoring softly. Nessie was nowhere to be seen; she'd probably gone into her own bed earlier on. Three huge empty Ben & Jerry's ice cream tubs were scattered around the boys, and a multitude of other empty wrappers and packets surrounded them. I shook my head in disbelief, then settled down and went to sleep for a few more hours.

When I awoke for the second time, I could hear someone in the kitchen, and Embry was tidying up all the wrappers left on the floor. Jacob and Seth were half awake, mumbling and blinking groggily. After a quick breakfast and change of clothes, I left the house, wanting to wallow in my own self-pity. I missed Riley terribly, and I was afraid of what might happen to him. He would be gone for another five hours or so, if previous Cullen hunting trips were anything to go by. I dazedly made my way into the forest, and was just about to phase when I saw something move at the corner of my vision. I quickly turned my head, and gasped. There, leaning nonchalantly against a tree with a small smile on his face, was Riley, my love. His smile broadened when he saw my reaction, and he sauntered over to where I stood. He stood a metre of so in front of me, waiting for me to speak.

"You're back!" I cried.

"We cut the trip short. I was finished anyway."

"How was it?" I asked hesitantly.

"It was...Not as bad as I'd thought. But, when you've tasted human blood, it's-" He stopped when he saw my face twist, then continued quickly, "I did fine, apparently. Edward and Carlisle were quite impressed with me, I think."

"You weren't supposed to be back for ages!" I accused him, "I've been here, bored out of my mind, with nothing to do."

"You want me to leave again?" He challenged, eyebrows raised quizzically.

"Of course not! It's just...Well...I missed you," I finished lamely. He sighed, and then closed the distance between us in one stride.

"I missed you too. You were right; it is hard to be apart. And...I'm sorry for how I was acting before. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I was just afraid I was going to physically hurt you. I'm sorry Leah." His face crumpled with his apology, and hearing him say my name with that amount of sincerity, I did something I never expected to do. I stood up on my toes and pushed my lips against his surprised ones with as much force as I could muster. He stood there, unmoving, for a few seconds, while my lips worked relentlessly against his own, trying to force out some kind of response. Suddenly, he pulled away, shocked. Before I could blink, he was ten metres away from me, looking at me from across the floor with a pained expression.

"Leah," he whispered.

"I know," I whispered back, "You don't want to hurt me. And I caught you off guard. I'm sorry."

"No, you don't need to be sorry. It's okay," he said, attempting to smile. He walked back to where I still stood, and whispered once more, "I'm sorry Leah." He leaned towards me slightly, and I turned away, saying,

"No. I don't want you to force yourself. If you don't want to kiss me, then that's fine. That's totally, completely fi-" And my words stuck in my throat as Riley softly pressed his stone lips against mine. All too soon, he pulled away, and looked me in the eye while saying,

"Of _course _I want to kiss you. You're beautiful and smart and strong and I've told you; I want to spend the rest of my life with you. But if I lose focus for one second, I could...bite you. And we both know the outcome of that." He sighed and shook his head, but his little speech did not stop him leaning towards me once more, taking my face in his marble hands, and pushing his lips roughly against mine. This time though, he didn't just stand there. He moved one hand down to my waist, while the other continued to cup my cheek. His delicious breath filled my mouth, and I opened it eagerly. For a second we were flying, and then I found myself pushed up against a tree, Riley's mouth still on mine. His hand found the small of my back, and rested there while I pushed my hands through his golden hair. Electricity flowed through us as we kissed, and somehow we both managed to stay upright as our personal supernova exploded inside our mouths. The tip of his tongue touched the edge of my lips, and then he pulled back once more. He gave me another shorter, sweeter kiss, and then leaned back, holding my hands. We were both panting, our chests heaving. He looked at me sheepishly.

"Um. Well. That's, uh, different. I wasn't actually planning on that happening. It was meant to be a peck. Sorry."

"Sorry? Why do you keep apologising to me? In case you didn't notice, I very much enjoyed that..._exchange. _On second thoughts, if that's how you apologise, then feel free to say sorry more often. I don't know _why _we haven't done that before," I said contemptuously. He sighed in exasperation and folded himself onto the forest floor.

"We haven't done that before because I very nearly killed you. You know how close my teeth were to your neck? Just a simple bump, and I would have bitten you. I'll bet you don't taste too good though. Better than that mountain lion I drank, but not as good as humans. Sorry, sorry!" He added, seeing my face at the mention of his previous diet, "I will try to stop mentioning that. I know it makes you feel uncomfortable. Before I met you, I didn't even know there was any other other way to live this second life. Come here." He held out his arms to me; an invitation. After a few moments I wandered over to him, and sat in the cradle of his arms. He sniffed my hair, and his nose wrinkled slightly as he said,

"You smell kind of good. Like...nature. You smell like earth and grass and wood. Your brother though – ugh. He needs to bathe or something. He really does smell like wet dog." I chuckled slightly, and settled down in his arms. There we sat, for what felt like hours, not speaking, just being comfortable in each other's presence.


	7. Chapter 7

**Another chapter, kind of random, but it sort of influences the next chapter. (well, obviously) Just have to say this: I LOVE RILEY. Now if this story had a soundtrack, at the end of this chapter it would be She's Always A Woman by Fyfe Dangerfield. Check it out! I love the lyrics. **

Chapter seven: "I'd like to try something."

From that day onwards, Riley and I became inseparable. We weren't ones to show off our love to the whole world, and definitely did not go for public displays of affection as Jacob and Nessie did. We were both more sensitive, and tried to stick to simple hand-holding when others were around. Always, whenever he was thirsty, he would become more irritable and distant towards me, but as soon as his thirst was quenched, he would become the Riley I loved once more. He hated it when he was thirsty, and so hunted more often than strictly necessary. I wanted to try hunting with him, but he wouldn't allow it; it was the time when any remaining humanity would leave him, and he didn't want me to be around when he was using his instincts over his mind. As far as I could tell, he was a natural at this new, animal-hunting style. He'd taken to his new diet with great finesse, though sometimes I saw a wistful look in his eye, and I knew he was thinking about how human blood tasted. He still hadn't been around any humans – he wasn't quite so experienced that it would not affect him.

One especially bad day, Riley was more thirsty than usual, and left to go hunting without so much as a second glance. I was upset with myself for not making sure he had been hunting sooner. After all, he had delayed his hunting trip for a few days because I was sick with the flu, and he didn't want to leave me. Only when I was back on my feet did he leave to go hunting at last. I was glad, but as always, saddened to see him leave. I was sitting by the river when I heard a familiar whisper in my ear,

"Leah." I turned around and saw the smiling, glorious face I was so hoping to see. He took my face in his hands and kissed me gently. He pulled away and took my hand, then led me into the bubbling river. The water was about waist deep, and to a normal human would have felt cold in the late October weather. Riley's smile mimicked my own, and once more he took my face in his hands and kissed me. I moved my hands into his hair as he deepened the kiss. I sighed happily; glad that he wasn't being quite as careful as he usually was around me. He moved his own hands to my waist, and slowly pulled me towards deeper water, until just my head and shoulders were above the surface. I took a deep breath, and then I found myself underwater. I continued to kiss him incessantly, seeing nothing but his pale face through the water. I could have died right then, and been happy, because I was in his arms. Too soon, he broke off, dragging me back to the surface. I gasped when I broke through, slightly dizzy. He chuckled, still holding my waist with one hand. Ugh. I wished I could have stayed underwater with him for hours. I had to breathe though. Stupid human needs. I scowled, and Riley chuckled again, pulling me towards him and, holding my chin with one hand, asked,

"You okay now? Sometimes I forget you need to breathe. You make me feel so...inhuman...when you kiss me; I forget that you actually are human." Not wanting to get distracted again, I leaned back in towards Riley for a kiss. Some part of my mind decided to take a risk, and I wasn't thinking straight, so in one swift movement I removed Riley's shirt. He pulled back, blinked at me, and started to frown. I took advantage of his hesitation and began to memorise every part of his torso. Not surprisingly, he had perfectly-formed abs, his alabaster chest was broad, and his shoulders were wide. I was tracing the panes of his chest with my fingers when the sun burst out from where it was hiding behind the clouds. For a second I was shocked. His smooth skin sparkled like a million diamonds, giving off small rainbows every time he moved. When he smiled at my reaction, his teeth gleamed, and I couldn't help but smile back. Then, the sun moved back behind the clouds, and his skin only glimmered slightly in the remaining light. My mouth was hanging open in shock, and he chuckled at me once more. He took hold of my hand, quickly grabbed his shirt from where it was floating next to us nearby, and we walked back to the bank. We wandered to the forest, which seemed to be where we spent most of our time, and after hanging his shirt on a tree branch, Riley turned to face me. He frowned slightly, then asked,

"Aren't you cold?"

"Nope. It's a werewolf thing. I'm hotter than a regular human," I replied. Riley muttered something which sounded like 'You got that right.'

"I still don't like the idea of you with your wet clothes. You might get a cold or something. You're only just recovering from another sickness," he said to me.

"I'll take my clothes off then. You can help me," I hinted, raising my eyebrows and pressing myself against him.

"Leah! Don't do this to me. Now is not the time," Riley complained, turning away.

"Now is as good a time as any!" I cried, moving close to him again, not at all deterred by his previous comment.

"No. Really. It's not. It's...not going to happen. I don't have enough control over myself," he replied.

"But-" I started to say.

"Shh," he said, putting his finger against my lips, "I think I hear someone coming." He paused, and we both listened. The sound of footsteps was getting louder and louder.

"We'll talk about this later!" I said quickly, to which Riley replied,

"Yeah. Maybe." It wasn't long until Seth appeared in between two trees. Seeing Riley's arm around my waist and my body pressed very close to his, plus the absence of his shirt, made Seth take a step backwards and mumble,

"Oh. Sorry if I interrupted anything. I'll speak to you later..." I jumped back from Riley, and assured Seth,

"No. Nothing was happening. We were just...What do you want?" Seth avoided my eye, and I looked at Riley, who was now wearing his slightly damp shirt. I tried to concentrate, but I was somewhat distracted by the fact that his shirt clearly outlined his perfect musculature.

"Um, Carlisle wanted to speak to you. Alice had a vision I think, and...I don't know. Go and see Carlisle. That's all. Then you can go back to your PDA," Seth said to us, turning back towards the direction in which he came.

"Seth! I think the phrase 'Public Displays of Affection' refers to the act of being in a public place, with company, while performing these displays of affection. And we weren't in a public place or with company. So...Yeah...Just...Okay, we'll go see him. Bye," I said. And so Seth ran away from where we were standing, presumably to escape our 'PDA'. Riley looked questionably at me, and I shrugged whilst saying, "Let's go." He took my hand, and we too ran from the forest.

I'd never been in Carlisle's study before. It was all mahogany wood, and there were books everywhere I looked; on the tall bookshelves, piled high on the heavy desk, stacked precariously on a filing cabinet. He was waiting for us with a grave look in his eyes when we entered, but smiled when he saw us. He gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. I felt like I was at a doctor's appointment, then realised that that was kind of true. The house was empty apart from us. I knew that Bella and Edward were at the cottage, and most of the other vampires were hunting that day, and I could hear Alice humming to herself in the garden.

"I expect you want to know why I called you here. Well, today I am acting as your doctor. I just need to ask you a few questions," Carlisle told us.

"Okay then," I replied, confused.

"I was merely wondering if...And I know that this is a sensitive subject, but remember, I am a professional...I was wondering if you have given any thought to having, shall we say, a more intimate relationship?" He asked. I gulped, and tried not to catch Riley's eye, who answered,

"I...We...It's not really an option for us. My venom is fatal to her, is it not? It's very difficult to control myself, even when we're only kissing. I have to stop myself before it gets out of hand." He ran his hand through his glorious hair. I looked down at my feet, trying not to let the tears well up.

"Perhaps that is a wise decision. It would be difficult to control yourself in that situation, I am guessing," Carlisle nodded.

"So, it just...wouldn't be possible?" I asked quietly.

"It _could _be possible. But you would be putting yourself at great risk. Is it worth it to sacrifice yourself for those needs you have?" Carlisle said.

"Maybe you're right...But I'm a werewolf who's in love with a vampire! I'm already at risk!" I cried.

"Leah, my love, please. I'm sorry. I wish I could give you what you want. But I can't. I'm new to this life. I don't have much control even now."

"Of course, Bella and Edward went through a similar situation a while ago. I'm sure they'd be happy to speak to you if you want," Carlisle told us, smiling. He looked at his watch then and said, "Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't realise the time. I'm working today at the hospital, and I really should get going. If there's anything you need, do not hesitate to ask."

"Carlisle?" I asked, "It's just a quick question. Seth said something about Alice having a vision? What did that have to do with us?" Carlisle looked uncomfortable, then replied,

"Remember that her visions are not set in stone. They don't always happen. It's just...She had a vision of Riley in...deep sorrow, sat down next to...Something... And the only thing that we believe could have caused that sorrow is the death of-" He trailed off, then shook his head, picked up a few books, and left the room. It was completely silent in the study for a few minutes.

"Well that settles it. Never am I going to put you at risk ever again," Riley said triumphantly, shaking his head slowly. I felt the tears return to my eyes. I'd never really imagined myself as a mother, but having it just taken away from me, so resolutely, made me upset. Wasn't the point of imprinting to create stronger offspring? Weren't Riley and me _meant _to have children?

"Riley I-" I started.

"No, Leah. This discussion is over. It's not going to happen," he replied. A sob burst from my lips and I cried,

"It's my choice! I don't care! Please, Riley." For a moment he looked undecided, and then he shook his head and whispered,

"I'm sorry." I stared at his beautiful face for a moment, and then ran away from him. I had to escape; he couldn't see me like that. I ran as fast as I could, and it was only when I reached the state boundary that I let the tears overcome me.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi guys, I know this chapter is short, and I'm sorry about that. (But on the plus side, you can tell that this chapter is leading up to some important events.) I'm pretty sure the next chapter is going to be more dramatic. I'm going away on a field trip with school, so no updates for a week or two. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, it really makes me happy that you enjoy reading my story. **** Keep reading, keep reviewing, keep being awesome. (BYTHEWAY, does anyone watch Vampire Diaries? How do you feel about me writing a VD fanfic, after my Jacob&Nessie one? Message me or comment. THANKS. :D)**

Chapter eight: "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

I was angry. Maybe I took it too far. When Riley called, I didn't tell him where I was, only that I needed some time alone. It really hurt to be away from him, but I couldn't face him. I spent a lot of time just thinking. I realised that subconsciously I had been planning a family from the moment I had first seen Riley. I wasn't exactly a motherly person, but I knew that with Riley, we could be the perfect parents. I cried until my tears ran dry, staring at the sun rising over Mount Hood. I knew that Riley would come and get me soon, and it didn't surprise me when I heard his soft footsteps behind me. I didn't turn to face him.

"Leah," he whispered, not moving any closer to me. I could feel his presence behind me, and it took every little string of restraint I had not to leap into his arms and feel his marble body against mine. I yearned for him, I yearned to stroke his irresistibly smooth face and hear him chuckle against my cheek. I continued to watch the sun, as it rose higher and higher into the sky. All day, the only thing I did was look at my surroundings, never moving, never speaking.

When the sun started its descent once more, my stomach growled. I waited, and then it growled again.

"Eat something, Leah," Riley said, sounding worried. I didn't reply. Only when the sun had completely disappeared behind the mountains I started to get up. Riley darted forward, about to help me, but I shrugged away from him. He fell back, exhaling sharply. I moved towards a clump of trees, took off my clothes, and phased into my wolf form. That night I hunted quickly, ignoring Seth's worries in my mind. I wandered over to where I had left my clothes earlier, and settled down, laying on my stomach and resting my head on my paws. I would be more likely to get a decent night's sleep in my wolf form than human, and I was so tired. So, so tired...

I woke up to green sunlight, the leaves of the trees around me dappling the light. I stayed laying down until the afternoon, when my stomach rumbled again. I inwardly cursed myself for not eating properly last night. I stood up and decided to hunt once more; after all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I padded forward, listening out for the sounds of a heart thumping. A slight breeze blew from the east, and I caught the scent of a herd of elk. I ran silently towards the smell, and stopped a few feet from the clearing where the elk were settled. Suddenly, the elk scattered and I stood staring at the clearing for a few seconds, wondering what had scared them. Then I saw him. Standing at the other end of the clearing was a tall, pale figure with dark eyes, wearing his favourite worn out jeans and white t shirt. He caught sight of me at the same time I caught sight of him. Neither of us moved until I pointed my head slightly to the right, indicating that we should follow the elk before they got too far away. He gave a tiny smile and we ran towards the elk, still about ten metres apart. We reached the elk quickly and fed, competing against each other for the giant male elk. We walked slowly back to where I had slept. When we arrived at the spot, I sat down, folding my legs underneath me in a way that only canines can. Riley sinuously sat down on the hard ground, a few metres away from me. He cleared his throat and said slowly,

"I watched you sleep last night. You were tossing and turning and whining. Do wolves dream?" I looked at him with indifferent eyes and shrugged my huge shoulders. In truth, I knew that wolves didn't really dream as such, but see blurs of different colours and mixes of smells and textures. Last night had been a particularly memorable dream. Specific memories had reappeared many times; porcelain skin, dark, worn out denim, smooth marble, and the smell of something sweet that was so indescribable that it was always distinguishable.

"Okay. Well, I see you're being as stubborn as usual. At least while you're in that form I can talk to you and you'll be forced to listen to me," he said, raising his eyebrows. I slumped forwards even more. He leaned towards me and said quietly, "Leah, look at me. I just want to explain." I slowly dragged my eyes to his golden ones. "I never knew that you wanted to be a mother so much. If I'd known, then I wouldn't have said no so quickly. I just...I can't..." To see Riley grasping for words hurt me; usually he was so sure of himself. Some might say he was arrogant, but for me it was just confidence. I got up and walked towards his outstretched hand. I sat down next to him. He hesitantly stroked my fur. His hand sent tingles along my skin as he massaged my neck. He changed his position and leaned his head against me.

We watched the sunset, the clouds streaking across the sky, long shadows on the grass. My heart was beating erratically, and I was sure that Riley could hear it through my fur. I felt his quiet chuckle rumble through my body. Then he turned so that his face was inches from my own.

"Leah, I've been thinking." He took a deep breath. "You know that I love you. More than anything in this world. You're stubborn, you're really annoying, and when you pull that face, you can make me do anything you want," he smiled, "And you're independent and loyal and funny and honestly the most beautiful woman I've ever met. And if you want something this badly, then really, I have no choice but to give it to you." My heart was pumping so fast I could barely hear it. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? He spoke to me, looking in my eyes.

"Darling, as much as I love you in this form, I'd appreciate it if you could actually talk to me a little. I'll feel kind of strange if I start kissing an animal." I sighed heavily. I didn't want to get my hopes up. He leaned back to confusedly look at my face.

"Leah? Do you understand what I'm saying?" He raised his eyebrows. "Okay then." He stood up in one graceful movement, smiled at me, and whispered,

"I love you Leah Clearwater." That's when I realised that he meant it. The moment was so perfect; with the mountains as a backdrop, a full moon above our heads, and two souls so perfectly matched, there would never be another couple who loved each other as much as we did.


	9. Chapter 9

**This is kind of a lovey-dovey chapter, by the way. **** Sadly, my story is coming to an end, so I think there will be a maximum of about 15 chapters overall. (I haven't written them yet, so it is just a guess.) I've already written chapter 10, and some of chapter 11, so they should be up soon. Anyway, I'll be quiet now so that you can read the actual chapter. Enjoy, and PLEASE review. **

Chapter nine: "Expect the unexpected."

I woke up with the midday sun shining right above my head. Riley was nowhere to be seen, and I began to worry, thinking that the night before had been merely a dream. Only a few seconds later Riley was at my side, looking worriedly into my eyes.

"Leah, Leah. What's wrong?" I took a deep breath and replied,

"Nothing, now you're here." Riley held my hands and said,

"Were you worried I had left you? Because I would never, ever do that. I promise." I smiled at him and kissed his hand, whispering,

"Oh, I know. It's just...everything feels kind of surreal right now. I wasn't sure that I hadn't just dreamt you up." He chuckled quietly, putting his arms around me. "I could stay here forever," I said quietly.

"Away from the people you love?" Riley questioned, leaning back.

"I've got everything I need right here," I said sincerely, giving him a kiss on the cheek. With a smile, Riley asked,

"So...You wouldn't miss Seth? Or your mom? Or Jacob?" I frowned slightly. Why would he want to go back when we had our own perfect piece of heaven right here? I sighed, thinking about what he said, then replied,

"Well yes, I would miss them. But I've been away before. I used to stay away for months, then come back for a short visit, then leave again. This visit here was supposed to be only a short stay, but _someone _came and messed that up." Riley cocked his head to the side and said,

"Who was that then? Do I know him?" I rolled my eyes and looked away from him.

"I want us to have our own lives, Riley. I don't want to stay in La Push forever, like every other couple. The truth is, we're not like any other couple, are we? We need to go out and find a place to live, somewhere far away, somewhere magnificent, just us." Riley moved so he was sat right in front of me and murmured,

"You know I would do anything to make you happy. And it would be nice to have our own place. So, why don't we start looking?" I took his face in my hands and gave him a kiss, then whispered,

"Thankyou."

A few hours later we were walking at a leisurely pace, hand in hand, back towards Forks.

"I'm glad you didn't kill me last night," I said to him, breaking the comfortable silence. His forehead furrowed, but he smiled, saying,

"Uh yeah, I'm glad too."

"Since you proved that you _can_ do it, we should _so _do it more often." I said cheekily.

"And you're still willing to put yourself at risk? Because I _could _kill you. Just because I didn't do it this time, I could still do it another time."

"Oh please, you know as well as I do that you wouldn't be able to kill me. You love me too much." He stood in front of me, tall and graceful, and replied,

"Yes. Yes, I do." He stayed still as only a vampire could, looking pensive for a while, then squared his shoulders and took a deep breath.

"Yes, Leah, I love you. Your life is worth more than my own. I want to be with you for all eternity, and I want our love to be completely official, so everyone can see that you are mine. So, bearing all that in mind...Will you marry me?" With not a moment's hesitation, I answered, smiling,

"Of course." To which Riley pulled my lips to his and kissed me with a burning passion.

It wasn't long before we were close to Bella's cottage. Riley suddenly spoke,

"I really should have done this properly. I didn't even think to buy a ring."

"It's fine, really. Rings are overrated."

"Are they really? Well anyway, look who's come to greet us." I turned my head in the direction in which he was pointing and saw Nessie and Jacob, hand in hand, coming towards us.

"Hey," Jacob said.

"Hi guys," I replied.

"You want to come inside?" Nessie asked, motioning with her hands.

"Um, you go ahead, I just need to do something," Riley said to me, putting his hand on my back.

"What do you need to do?" I asked as we were walking apart. Riley stopped for a second, then replied,

"I need to see a man about a dog." I nodded, smiling. It took me a few seconds to realise that Riley was being evasive. Odd.

We were in the living room, and MTV was on. Justin Bieber was blaring out of the speakers, singing about having somebody to love. I found myself moving singing along, and then stopped, realising that I would get completely mocked by Jake if he found out I had 'Bieber Fever.' So not worth it.

"So. You guys did the deed?" Jacob asked me, sprawled as always across the sofa. Both Nessie and I hit him at once, and she looked at me in apology, saying,

"I'm sorry about him, Leah. He is really just a giant idiot." Jacob looked completely unashamed, and replied, putting his arm around Nessie,

"You know you love me, baby." She wrinkled her nose, then said,

"Yeah, but I didn't have much choice in the matter. Now go shower. You stink." Still feeling confident, Jacob stripped himself of his shirt right there in the living room, stroking his abs absentmindedly. With a sly smile, he added,

"You wanna come help me take the rest of my clothes off?" I turned to Nessie to see her reaction. She stood up slowly, then, licking her lips, trailed her fingers teasingly slow down his stomach, stroking his abs, until her fingers were at the waistband of his underwear, then she pulled the waistband outwards, letting it _ping _back into place. Both of us girls started laughing, and Nessie moved back to the sofa.

"Ow!" Jake cried, rubbing his butt, "I take that as a _no. _Well, maybe later then. No one can resist the temptations of Jacob Black, Alpha male." He strutted away from us, and Nessie threw a pillow at him, to which he turned around and stuck his tongue out, consequently bumping into the doorframe because he wasn't looking where he was going. Nessie and I howled with laughter, and Jacob, finally looking slightly embarrassed, disappeared from view. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I turned to face Nessie. She spoke first, saying,

"I've never seen you laugh like that."

"Well I'm in a good mood. And Jacob's a funny guy." Nessie took a deep breath and smiled, replying,

"Yeah, he is." It was a while before either of us spoke again. Nessie asked, "So why are you in a good mood?" I opened my mouth to answer, to say that I was fine, nothing out of the ordinary had happened, when I realised that I didn't need to be so guarded. I could tell people why I was happy, couldn't I?

"Well, the thing is...And you must promise not to tell anyone?" I said seriously.

"Pinky swear!" Nessie cried, and I was reminded once again of her real age.

"Okay, well, today, Riley asked me if I wanted to marry him."

"What did you say, what did you say?" Nessie asked excitedly.

"Well I said yes, of course!" I replied, rolling my eyes.

"Aw, it is so romantic. Jacob won't even _contemplate _getting married. According to him, fifty percent of marriages fail nowadays. I told him that I'm sure werewolf-and-vampire-human-hybrid marriages don't exactly fall into that percentage, but he still won't budge."

"Oh, well I'm sure you can talk him round," I said quietly.

"But you and Riley! You are _such _a cute couple!" She squealed. I chuckled at her excitement, and then clutched my stomach as a burst of pain shot across it.

"Ow," I muttered.

"What's wrong?" Nessie asked worriedly, peering into my face.

"Nothing. It's gone now. I don't think I'm quite over that flu yet, that's all."

"Oh, right. Ah, I'm so excited for you and Riley! Seriously! Have you guys set a date yet or anything?"

"No, we haven't. Nessie, he only asked me this morning. Besides, I don't want a huge wedding. I just want something simple. No fuss." Nessie leaned back and folded her arms across her chest, muttering,

"Ugh. Fine. Spoilsport." I shook my head, then pointed out,

"You'll have your own wedding at some point, just remember." Nessie perked up then, saying,

"Yes! I can start planning it now! Maybe if Jacob sees how prepared I am for it, then he'll say yes!"

I nodded my head slowly, and said,

"Maybe, maybe."

When Riley wasn't back by the time the sun had gone down, I started to worry. Suddenly, my phone received a text. I quickly took it from my pocket, and read it in one second.

**Meet me in the forest. I'll be waiting. x**

"Um, please excuse me, I just need to, uh..." I muttered to no one in particular, rushing out of the cottage and towards our special spot in the forest. Riley was standing with his back to me, but hearing the sounds of my hurried approach, turned around with a smile.

"Where _were _you?" I cried, throwing my arms around him.

"Hey, hey, you're sounding like a clingy wife already. You're supposed to wait until _after _the wedding for that," he said, wrapping his own arms around me.

"You didn't answer my question," I pointed out.

"I know." He answered simply. I stepped out of his embrace and looked at him questioningly.

"Well?" I asked, raising my eyebrows expectantly. He chuckled and replied,

"Always so nosy." I folded my arms, then replied with a smirk,

"I prefer _inquisitive_." He continued to smile, as I stared at him. I frowned in confusion, and then said, "Riley. You _still _didn't answer my question." He laughed again, and, shaking his head, said,

"All in good time." I pursed my lips, and waited for thirty whole seconds before I spoke again,

"Riley! Just tell me where you were! Or I'll go all wolfy on you!" Riley laughed again, then leaned forward and said,

"Ah, I like 'em feisty." I rolled my eyes. Why was he being so cagey?

"Riley. Tell-" I kissed his hand, "-Me-" I kissed his other hand, "-Where-" I kissed his neck, "-You-" I kissed his cheek, "-Were." I kissed his smiling lips. He let me kiss him for a while until he pulled back and said,

"You said rings were overrated. They are so not, by the way. So I bought you one. I thought I might as well do the whole proposal thing properly. So, will you marry me, Leah? I have a ring this time."

I did a little Elvis thing with my lip, then said,

"You bought me a ring! Let me see!" Riley's lips clamped down over a suppressed smile, and he took a step back, saying,

"Leah, I just asked you to marry me and all you want to see is the ring?" I stood still for a while, then shrugged and said simply,

"Yes." Riley pulled a small velvet box from his pocket, then stopped, and said,

"Wait, wait. I need to get down on one knee. I told you, I'm going to do this properly!" I rolled my eyes as he crouched down on one knee. He put the ring box on his palm with a flourish, and started to speak,

"Leah Clearwater. Will you do me the absolute honour of becoming my wife?"

"Yes of course. We've already been through this. Now let me see the ring." Riley shrugged, then said,

"Pft. Okay then. Fine." He opened the box slowly, revealing the most gorgeous white gold ring, with diamonds encrusted along the length of it.

"May I?" Riley asked, taking my dark hand in his pale one, and slipping the ring onto my finger. A perfect fit.

"It's beautiful," I whispered, "Not as beautiful as you, of course." Riley looked down at the floor, saying,

"Oh stop it, you're making me blush." I smiled, staring at his glorious, white, unblushing face. I threw my arms around him, and I felt his marble arms slide around my waist. We stared at each other, my hazel eyes and his golden eyes lost in each other.

"Well. Leah Clearwater, how does it feel to be engaged?"

"It feels perfect." And he leaned in to kiss me.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello everyone. Thank you for all the great reviews. The story is getting more...emotional as I go along, and I wanted to share this chapter with you. One thing; next chapter, LOTS of stuff happens, so wait in suspense. **** This chapter is kind of hinting at events in chapter eleven, so bear that in mind as you read it. PREPARE YOURSELF for the grand finale, because it is fast approaching. If you don't understand my writing or what I'm trying to say, message me or write in a review. PLEASE keep reviewing, I love reading your thoughts. Thank you.**

Chapter ten: "I'm always the last to know everything."

Only a couple of days later we were planning on going to look at houses out of the state. We wanted to move as soon as possible, now that the idea had been planted in our heads. We were ready to go, and would leave once I'd said goodbye to Mom. Once I'd said goodbye, and announced my engagement to her. I mentally cringed at the reaction I knew she'd give. In hindsight, I probably should have introduced Riley to her before I told her that I was going to marry him. Oh well. Riley had driven us there in the new car that the Cullens had bought for us as an engagement present. It was a Mercedes, and it was fast, that much I knew.

"Riley, please. Don't come in with me. I can handle it by myself."

"No, I want to come in with you."

"But...you haven't been around any humans since...Well...Y'know. And this is my mom we're talking about, not some random stranger."

"I know it is. I can handle it, I swear. If I start to lose control then I'll just leave. Your mom won't question the speed or anything will she? I mean, she knows about vampires right? She knows that I'm a vampire, doesn't she?"

"Um...Yeah, about that..." I started.

"You didn't tell her? About my being a vampire?" Riley asked incredulously.

"Well. To be honest, I didn't tell her very much at all about you. Just your name."

"Oh." Riley said, leaning back in the chair.

"She knows I imprinted. So she knows that this love is real, and it's powerful. I'm sure she won't mind about the whole vampire thing. She's cool like that." I took advantage of Riley's apparent lack of concentration, quickly opened the door, and got out of the car. But as I did so, I was overcome with a wave of nausea, I swayed on my feet, and I felt a pair of cool hands catch me before, for the second time in Riley's presence, I blacked out.

Cold and warm merged into one. All over me, it felt like ice was being pressed with fire against my skin. Then I realised that it was Riley's hands and Mom's hands, checking my forehead and holding my hand. My eyelids twitched, and I took a deep breath. I heard a sigh of relief, and quiet murmurings.

"Leah! Hey, can you hear me?" A deep, concerned voice asked.

"Hmm," I replied.

"You've got fast reflexes, I'll give you that," a familiar voice said.

"It comes with the territory," Riley replied dryly. My eyes opened to the wooden beams of the living room in my mom's house.

"Honey, are you okay?" Mom asked me, peering into my face.

"Yeah. I'm just...hungry." I heard Mom tut, and she spoke quietly to Riley, saying,

"That's _your _fault. You've been neglecting all her human needs because _you _don't need them!"

"M-o-m," I complained, "It's not his fault. It's mine. I've just not been hungry recently."

"Hmph," she replied, and I heard her slippers pad away towards the kitchen.

"Sorry about her," I whispered to Riley as he stroked my face.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you're okay. You scared me then. You've really got to stop fainting in my presence. There _are_ healthier ways to say you love me."

"Mom will come round. She's just not too fond of vampires," I told him, ignoring what he just said.

"That doesn't bother me."

"She just needs to get to know you. She won't be able to resist you. She'll fall hook, line and sinker."

"Well, I hope so." I frowned, then said to Riley,

"Wait, why are you here? How are you still here? Mom is a human and you're..."

"A vampire who swore to his love that he would not hurt her mother? I keep my promises, Leah."

"Are you sure you don't...you know..." I started. Riley interrupted me with a smile, saying,

"Honestly, I'm fine. Seeing you pass out sort of knocks any other thoughts from my mind." I sighed deeply, having to accept that Riley would not hurt my mother. I trusted him. I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the hunger I was feeling. When Mom came in with a plate of bacon and sausages I nearly cried out with relief. Seeing her worried face nearly made me hesitate in my decision to tell her about my engagement. What if she had a heart attack, like Dad? I inwardly cursed myself. Mom was stronger than Dad, both physically and mentally. She would be able to handle it. God, I was only telling her I was engaged! It's not like Riley was an axe-murderer or something like that. (Though I'm sure 'vampire' doesn't score too highly either.) My stomach churned at the thought of what I was about to do. I was about to tell my mother that I was going to marry a man who she'd just met. Oh, and he wasn't even a man; he was a _vampire. _Once I'd finished my food, after a few deep breaths I met Riley's eye, and he gave a tiny nod.

"Thanks for the food Mom. It was great. And, you know what? You're always so great to me! Always so...supportive. And I have just this teeny matter I need to tell you about," I moved my thumb and index finger together to show just how 'insignificant' the matter was, "Well, you see, the thing is...Riley is...Riley and I are...We're getting married." There was silence for a few seconds, and then Mom slowly nodded. Riley began to speak to her,

"I realise I probably should have asked your permission first. But it wasn't really planned. It was more of a spur-of-the-moment thing." Mom's mouth dropped open, and Riley hurriedly corrected himself, "Not that it's one of those whirlwind romances! No, that's not what I meant! I meant that I'd been kind of subconsciously thinking about it for a while, and then the moment came, and I asked your wonderful daughter if she would do me the greatest pleasure in the world, of becoming my wife." He made it sound like _I _was doing a favour for _him, _in marrying him. I waited for a few seconds for Mom to speak. When she did, it seemed like she was choosing her words very carefully.

"I see. You haven't known each other for very long at all. I can see there's..._something _there between you. Well, I'm not going to stop you. I'm not going to give you my blessing though. But there's nothing stopping you getting married." Riley and I looked at each other, trying to think of what to do. Riley spoke again,

"Leah is the most fantastic person I have ever met. She makes me laugh, she makes me feel alive. When she smiles, I feel like the world has set on fire. I love her with all my heart, mind, my whole being. And-" Mom held her hand up to stop him, and then said,

"Save it for the church." She smiled at me, and I stood up, saying,

"That's it? You're giving us your blessing?" When she nodded I bounded over to her and gave her a huge hug, whispering 'thank you' into her ear. After a while, I looked at my watch and said apologetically,

"We're going to have to leave now. But don't worry. I'll be back. Love you Mom."

"Love you too," she replied with a smile.

"Thank you for the blessing. And goodbye, I hope to see you soon," Riley said politely. He stood by the door, and his jaw was strained away from me. I looked at him confusedly, and then the penny dropped,

"Oh. _Oh._" I walked quickly away from Mom and Riley and I hurried out of the door together. When we reached the car, Riley looked less strained, and he turned to me, saying,

"Sorry about that. I just...became aware of your mother's scent. I'm sorry I'm so _weak_." My eyebrows shot up in surprise, and I corrected him quickly,

"Weak? No Riley, you're not weak. The way you handled everything today was amazing. It was your first time around a human. I am so, _so _proud of you." He bit his lip and shook his head, and started driving. I rolled my eyes at him being a martyr.

The next few days were a whirlwind of events. We started looking for houses, but none of them were particularly special. We were planning on finding a place out of state, but still close enough to La Push. Also, I had been taken shopping by Renesmee, of all people, to find a wedding dress. Luckily, I had been more successful there than with house-finding.

Bridal Boutique was a small shop. It wasn't lit up with bright white lights, and we didn't get offered free champagne as we walked through the door like we had for other shops. The dresses that hung from the walls were not the puffy, lacy monstrosities I had been forced to try on earlier. They were simple and elegant, and I hoped I would find a dress there. It wasn't long before I was in the dressing room, trying on a gown that was optimistic about. When I stepped out of the cubicle and into the main shop, I heard gasps. Nessie rushed over to me, saying,

"You _have _to have it. It's looks perfect!" She grabbed my hand, careful not to touch the dress, and turned me round so I was facing the three way mirror. The colour, very slightly off-white, looked great against my skin. The trumpet sleeves were not what I would have normally chosen, but looked good. The bodice was silk, with a simple heart-shaped neckline, on the back was a criss-cross of ribbons, like a corset. The bodice stopped at my hips, where it began to spread out into an A-Line skirt. The skirt was long, creating a small train at the back. I stood, staring at my reflection for a while, marvelling at myself. When I tore my eyes away, I looked at Nessie, who actually had tears in her eyes.

"You look _beautiful_," she said with a sigh.

"Thanks," I mumbled. Then I added with a smile, "We're going to need to find a dress for you too. What with you being my bridesmaid and everything." Nessie's jaw dropped, and she squealed,

"Really? Oh my gosh! Thank you so much!" I laughed, and with one final glance in the mirror, I went back into the dressing room to change back into my jeans and t-shirt. Back to reality.

We had been spending a lot of time at the cottage, whilst surfing the internet and scouring the newspapers for house details. It was about five o'clock in the evening one day when Riley suddenly said,

"Leah, look at this. Doesn't this sound good?" I wandered over to him, putting down the pack of Pringles I had been devouring. He was sat at the laptop, a picture of a house on the screen. I read the information aloud,

"'Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, joint kitchen and dining room, living room, storage cupboard.' Sounds good. Hold on; let me read this, _'Fir Tree Lodge is the perfect house for those who prefer the quiet life. Situated in St. David's forest, which is known for its abundance of deer and elk, this little wooden cabin is full of charm and character. Previously a hunting lodge, the house has phone reception and relatively nearby is internet signal. The nearest shop is located around 8 miles away, and the lodge is definitely not situated on the beaten track. However, if you are looking for a life of peace and quiet then the house is most certainly worth considering.'_" I finished reading and started to nod, a smile spreading across my face. Riley spoke first,

"Plenty of elk for me."

"And it's a good size." I added.

"Only about forty-five minutes from here."

"I think, Riley Biers, that we have found a house!" I exclaimed.

Then he frowned, saying, "Now we need a date for the wedding."

"To be honest, I'm not too fussed. I'd just like it to happen soon."

The next day, I realised that I was missing Seth. I hadn't spoken to him in a while. I walked into the forest, preparing myself to phase. I hadn't been in my wolf form for a while either, and it felt kind of strange. I felt the tremors ripple through my body, and I waited for the moment when my other form would burst out of me. I waited, but it never came. I tried again, but still I could not phase. I frowned in confusion. Seth would know why I couldn't phase, or Jake. Or Sam. In that moment I decided to go and speak to Sam. Hopefully it would be easier to talk to him now I had Riley. And so I set off for Sam and Emily's house.

I arrived outside the house, and Emily met me at the door. She had always greeted me warmly, even though I had been so mean to her. She looked kind of confused when she saw me, but she still let me in. Her stomach was even larger than when I had last seen her, and she looked radiant. I was actually jealous of her, but I wouldn't admit that.

"You look great!" We said in unison. We laughed together.

"Seriously, you're glowing!" I said to Emily, trying to make up for all the times I had been mean to her.

"So are you! You're happy with Riley, are you?" She asked concernedly, walking towards the kitchen, where Toby was sat at the table.

"Yes. I'm very happy. And I'm-" I was cut off my Emily saying,

"No, Toby, don't draw on the table. That's what the paper is for!" When Toby had successfully moved his crayon to the paper, Emily continued, "Sorry, Leah. Please carry on."

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for all the...drama I've caused. I'm sorry for being rude to you in the past. I was an idiot." Emily shook her head and said,

"No, it's fine. You were hurting, that's all. And now you're not. Everything's okay."

"Really? Are you sure?" I asked.

"Honestly, it's fine. All forgotten." The oven timer went off and Emily moved to the counter. I moved so I could see Toby's drawing. It was a dinosaur, clearly.

"You're a good little artist aren't you?" I asked him.

"Me? No, I'm not little, I'm a _big _boy."

"You'll be a big boy when you eat all your dinner," Emily said to him.

"That is a great dinosaur," I said, pointing at the picture.

"It's not a dinosaur! It's a house!" He cried.

"Oh," I said.

"Haha, tricked ya. It is a dinosaur. It goes RAAAAH!" He shouted.

"It is one scary dinosaur. Does it have a name?" I asked.

"He is called Dino the dinosaur. What's your name?" He asked interestedly.

"My name's Leah."

"Hello Leah, I'm Toby. How do you do?" He held out his little hand, which I shook, laughing. Emily walked over to the table with a plate of muffins and two mugs of tea.

"Toby, why don't you take your colouring over to your bedroom?" Emily asked him. He picked up his pack of crayons and paper, jumped off his seat, ran to the doorway, then turned around and shouted 'RAAAAH!' before going into his room and closing the door. I chuckled at him; he was cute.

"You're good with him. Maybe you can babysit him. Anything to keep his shouting quiet. Do you want children?" Emily asked.

"Um. I don't know. Maybe? I didn't before I met Riley, but then it changed. I wouldn't mind having a child if he was the father. But then, I'm not exactly sure how possible it is for us, what with my being a werewolf and him being a vampire."

"Well, I'm sure you'll be happy, whatever happens," Emily said kindly. At that moment, the front door opened, and Sam walked in, bending down to get through the doorframe. As he caught sight of me, his eyes widened in misunderstanding.

"Hi, Leah," he said confusedly. Suddenly, the reason for my visit reappeared in my mind; I had forgotten all about my phasing problem while I had been speaking to Emily.

"I, uh, needed to ask you something. About phasing," I said. Emily smiled and left us to talk, and I heard her speaking to Toby in his bedroom.

"Tell me," Sam said concernedly.

"Well, earlier, I tried to phase, and I...couldn't."

"Just...couldn't?" He asked.

"Yeah. I tried a few times and I couldn't do it. Do you know why?"

"Well. Some people stop phasing when they decide that they want to stop being a protector and keep ageing, others that they've found their imprint and want to grow old with them," Sam explained.

"But, I haven't decided I want to age! Riley is immortal, staying the same all the time, and I want to do that too. So it can't be either reason," I pointed out.

"Then I'm sorry. I don't know why. Maybe you just weren't putting all your effort into it, or your mind was elsewhere. Try again another time, it was probably just a one-off," Sam told me. I shrugged, not entirely convinced. There were a few moments of silence, and then Sam broke it, laughing, "Hey, I told you that you would find someone. It was my Alpha senses." I rolled my eyes, remembering our last conversation, and then said,

"Okay, you keep believing that. Now I have to go and see my fiancé. So thank you for your kind-of help. And will you thank Emily for the food for me? See you soon Sam," I smiled, ducking out of the door.


	11. Chapter 11

**Helloooo. Here's the update! This is probably my favourite chapter so far, plus, it's the most action-packed AND the longest. So I hope you enjoy it. That's all I have to say for now, so thanks for all your reviews, and PLEASE KEEP REVIEWING. :D **

Chapter eleven: "Is there really such thing as perfection?"

"Leah, honey, wake up. We're leaving soon." Riley shook me awake, and I opened my eyes blearily.

"Ugh," I moaned, as my stomach groaned with nerves. It felt like something was twisting my stomach with its fists, and I suddenly felt a wave of nausea. I shoved Riley out of the way and threw up over the floor. Once I'd finished, I groaned, and fell back against the bed. Riley jumped onto the bed next to me, holding his cool hand against my forehead.

"Leah? Are you okay?" He asked worriedly, peering into my face.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that. I don't know what...I just...Well, I feel better now, if it's any consolation."

"Go get yourself cleaned up. I'll clear this," Riley said.

"What? Ew, no, you can't clear up my puke. That's just gross," I said, continuing, "I'll do it once I've had a shower." I grabbed my clothes and walked into the bathroom. We had been staying in the cottage, in Edward and Bella's room while they were away, and I wanted to make sure all evidence of my being sick had been eradicated by the time they got back. After my shower, and brush of my teeth, I re-entered the bedroom to see Riley sitting on the bed reading _Wuthering Heights. _The floor was completely clean, and I could smell bleach in the air.

"Riley! I told you not to clean it up!" I complained.

"It was no bother, really," he said, turning a page.

"Why didn't you listen to me? That's so...annoying! I _said _I was going to clean it up, and I was going to, and then I came out and find out that you'd already done it and I feel so useless now!" I said, slightly hysterical for some reason. Riley dropped the book and rushed over to me, wrapping his strong arms around me, murmuring,

"I'm sorry. I just thought that it would make your life easier. I didn't know you wanted to clean it up so bad..." I leaned back so I could see his face, and replied,

"It was the principle of the thing." To which he continued to look slightly confused. After a while I whispered, "Sorry. I've been kind of edge recently. There's just a lot going on at the moment." I buried my face into his chest, and he stroked my hair. We stood there for a minute, and then Riley asked me quietly,

"Still want to go look at that house today? You feeling up to it?"

"Definitely. I think I just need to get out of this area for a while."

"I'm coming with you," Seth said to me.

"Me too! I want to see this house!" Nessie exclaimed.

"And since you want to use my car..." Jake mentioned.

"Okay fine. Just don't tell Mom, because she'll get all annoyed that she didn't get to see the house," I surrendered. Nessie smiled, and Jake said,

"I'll just go get the car."

We were driving along, Jake and Riley in the front seats, Seth, Nessie and I in the back. Miley Cyrus was blasting out of the radio; Seth, Jake, and, to my immense surprise, Riley, were all singing along. I exchanged an amused, yet slightly worried glance with Nessie, and we both tried to keep from laughing. The song ended, and Taylor Swift's voice filled the car. Seth whooped, and Riley started nodding his head in time to the beat. Jake's fingers were tapping the steering wheel, and he said,

"You know, I wouldn't mind going on a date with Taylor Swift. That Taylor Lautner guy is lucky."

"I didn't know you kept up with all the celebrity gossip, Jakey? Oh, and I thought _I _was the one you wanted to go on a date with. Just in case you've forgotten," Nessie pointed out. Jake hastily replied,

"No, no, I didn't mean that! You are the one, Ness. I was just saying that Taylor Swift seems pretty cool. I want to get a ticket for her concert. I mean a ticket for you Ness, to go the concert. Not me, that would be silly! Though if you wanted to invite me, I'd be more than willing to go." Nessie giggled, and I asked,

"Can you change the song? I've heard this one way too many times." Riley turned the dial, and suddenly Justin Bieber blared out of the speakers.

"Ugh, change the song!" Seth complained.

"No way! I have Bieber Fever! Let me get my fix!" Nessie admitted.

"Justin Bieber is just a prepubescent little girl," Seth argued.

"Then why is his song 'Baby' on your 'Top 25 Most Played'?" I asked him. Riley, Ness and Jake laughed, while Seth scowled, trying not to smile.

"Hey, I think we're nearly there," Riley said, sitting up straighter in his seat. I looked out of the window and saw that we were at the start of a forest track, and we were surrounded by tall trees, casting green shadows on the ground. Before long, the trees opened, and we entered a clearing, and in that clearing we were met by a small wooden house. I gasped; it looked like a little Hansel and Gretel house, set in the depths of the forest. We all got out of the car and wandered up the beaten path to the house. Ivy climbed the walls, and a rose plant snaked around one corner of the house. We tried the handle of the wooden front door, and it opened with a creak. We were immediately in the living room, and a fireplace was set into the wall right in front of us. To the left of the front door was a tiny bathroom. To the right of the front door was a tiny kitchen, complete with battered fridge and rusty stove. Under the stairs was a small cupboard with hooks and a rail for coats. Up the narrow staircase we went, each step squeaking as we ascended. Facing the top of the stairs was another bathroom, this one slightly larger than the first. On either side of the bathroom was a bedroom, both pretty good sizes. I caught Riley's eye and smiled, and he took my hand and squeezed it.

"It's perfect," I sighed.

"You should _definitely _take it," Nessie said.

"You know what? I think we will," Riley replied.

We decided to go into the town of St. David to celebrate. As we were driving along, we caught sight of a tiny church up on a hill.

"Hey, can we stop here for a minute, Jacob?" Riley suddenly asked. Jake shrugged and pulled over. Riley got out of the car and motioned for me to follow. I obliged, intrigued by Riley's sudden idea.

"What is it Riley? Is something wrong?" I asked worriedly.

"No, no, not at all. I just had an idea. You, for some reason, agreed to marry me. I assume that you would prefer to get married sooner rather than later, right? Well, and I'm going out on a whim here, because I think all relationships should contain a bit of spontaneity, in asking you to marry me, right here, right now." He finished with an exhale. Then he continued with, "Well, not _exactly _right here, I mean in the church up there. And not right now either, I just mean today –" He was cut off by a kiss from me. As I pulled away I looked into his beautiful eyes and said,

"Of course. Let's do it." Then a thought struck me, and I said, "There's just one problem. I don't have my dress." Suddenly, one of the car doors opened, and Nessie's voice shouted,

"Fear not: Nessie is here!" I laughed; clearly they had been listening to our conversation.

"Well then. Riley, we are getting married. Today!"

It seemed that luck was on our side that day. There had been a cancellation at the church, and the vicar was willing to fit us in, even at such short notice. The town had an old charity shop, and Nessie took it upon herself to find outfits for all of the guests. She found a suit for Riley for fifty dollars, a find that she was most pleased about, due to the fact that it was only fifty dollars, yet was vintage Prada. She found shirts for both Jake and Seth, and a dress for herself. We also managed to find a florist, and at first they weren't going to sell us any bouquets at with such little warning but then, thanks to Nessie's persuasion skills, we found ourselves with flowers. It wasn't long before Nessie and I were outside the church, preparing ourselves to enter. I was wearing my wonderful wedding dress, and I had to admit that I looked good. There was a bit of a crisis with my dress; it seemed I had put on a bit of weight since I had originally bought it, but Nessie of course saved the day with her sewing kit, and assured me it was totally normal. She had let my hair down, braided some small sections, put in a few small flowers, and had pretty much given me a makeover, with her 'emergency make up kit'. She herself looked beautiful as always, with her hair in a messy ponytail – somehow she made it look effortless, even though I knew it took her ten minutes to get it just right – and a floaty dusky pink dress, which was vintage Chanel, and from the church's 'lost and found' box, surprisingly enough.

"You ready?" She asked. I nodded with a smile. She took my arm and pulled me to the door.

"Good luck, Leah," she said, and hugged me. Then, she pushed open the door and I heard her walk confidently down the aisle. I took a deep breath and pushed the door, entering the room. Jacob wolf -whistled, Seth and Nessie laughed, but I only had eyes for Riley. He stood at the top of the aisle, looking gorgeous in his suit, his face sincere but his golden eyes smiling. I walked towards him, our eyes connected in a bond no one else could ever be able to emulate. As I reached him, he put his hand out for me to take, and I took it gratefully. The vicar turned to us and smiled, and started to speak. As we said our vows, Riley looked at me with such passion I thought I was going to melt. My eyes filled with tears, but my voice was loud and clear when I said,

"I do."

"I have the greatest honour of pronouncing you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride." Riley put his hand on the back of my head, and leaned in to kiss me. I tried to put as much force into it as I could, and I could feel Riley being persuaded, but then he pulled back, smiling. Everyone cheered, Nessie threw flower petals over us – how did she get hold of _them? _– and Riley and I laughed. He put his arm around my waist and whispered into my hair,

"I love you, Leah Biers." I smiled; that name would take some getting used to.

"I love you too," I replied with a kiss.

"Now, when I first met Riley, I think it's fair to say that we weren't on good terms. Okay, well, we actually tried to kill each other. Multiple times." Seth said to us. The five of us were sat around a table in a restaurant in St. David's, and the room was full. We laughed at Seth, who continued with, "I'm not actually joking. But I'm glad to say that I think our relationship has progressed since then. I now believe that he will protect her, and keep my big sister safe. So, without further ado, I want to wish the newlyweds a long and happy life together. To Riley and Leah!" We all raised our glasses, and even Riley drank some champagne.

"Phew," Seth said as he sank back down onto his chair, "I didn't exactly plan that speech, so sorry if it was a bit..."

"It was perfect Seth, thank you for being such a great little brother," I leaned towards him and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm not sure about _little. _I've been taller than you since I was like, ten. And anyway –" Seth stopped, his mouth hanging open, his eyes wide, "Well _hello._" I looked in the direction he was staring, and saw a pretty dark-haired girl staring back at Seth. He half rose from his chair, then flopped back down, looking down at his feet.

"Seth? What was that?" Jake asked. Seth looked up, confusion on his face, then comprehension dawning. His mouth popped open again and he said,

"Um. Well. I'm not sure but...Uh...Maybe...I think..." I exchanged a glance with Jake, our eyebrows raising in unison, and I said,

"Well _I _think you should go talk to her." Seth was still for a minute, and then he squared his shoulders and said,

"You know what? Maybe I will." His eyes searched for the girl, but his brow furrowed as he realised that she had gone, "Ah, um, well, it doesn't matter...I'll just..."

"Hi," a voice said from behind us. Seth's eyes opened wider, and then squeezed tight shut, a small smile played on his lips, and he turned to face the girl who had come looking for him.

"Hey," he said. She cocked her head to one side and said,

"I, uh, saw you when I was over there with my family. Do you want to..." She tucked her hair behind her ear nervously and looked at her feet.

"I'd love to," Seth said, getting to his feet. He was nearly a foot taller than her, even considering the fact that she was wearing heels. His mouth twitched at the corners as he took her in. Her tiny frame was clad in a black dress, her pale legs bare until her black ankle boots. She had wavy black hair, red lips, and bright green eyes. She was _interesting, _and I could just imagine Seth with her.

"I'm Anna, by the way," she said, holding out her hand for him to shake. Seth replied,

"The name's Seth," and took her outstretched hand and kissed it. I looked at Jake and we both bit on our lips to keep from laughing. Anna put her hand to her mouth and giggled quietly. Seth held out his arm, and Anna took it eagerly. As they were walking away, Anna admired,

"You're so _tall! _And...muscular!" Seth gave an indifferent shrug, and replied,

"I work out sometimes." Anna practically fainted, and I saw Seth give himself a pleased smile. I couldn't help but let out a snicker, and Jake and Riley joined me. Nessie had tears in her eyes and sobbed,

"I can't believe my little Sethy is all grown up!" Jake looked at her in amusement and said,

"Ness, honey, he's older than you. By quite a lot, actually."

"He'll always be my little Sethy. And now he's got his own imprint! It's just so..." Nessie couldn't continue because she started sobbing. Jake put his arm around her, smiling. I turned to Riley, realising something, and said,

"Hey, I'm sorry. I completely forgot that we were in a room full of humans; it's not fair on you."

"Don't worry about it. I'd forgotten too. I'm thinking that this resisting temptation thing might be my special strength. I don't really notice the smell much anymore."

"Well, either way, thank you. I'm so proud of you." I gave him a hug, and said, "We haven't spent much time together recently, have we?" A mischievous look appeared on Riley's face, and he whispered,

"Well. There's always the honeymoon." I met his devious gaze and kissed him so passionately that if he was human he would have fallen off his chair.

"Woah, guys, please," Jake said. We pulled apart, but I was still practically sitting on Riley's lap, and Jake continued, "Now, I've been thinking. I can see how happy you are together. And I would do anything for Nessie to make her happy. So, I just wanted to ask you something, Ness." She sat up straighter, looking suspicious, and as Jake got up from his chair, and then got down on one knee, she gasped, and he continued, "Renesmee Cullen. Will you do me the greatest pleasure of becoming my wife?" He took out a box from his pocket – he must have been carrying it around all the time – and opened it, revealing a ring. Nessie, for the first time I had ever seen, was speechless, and nodded quickly. Jake slipped the ring onto her finger. She stared at it for a second, then bent down and kissed Jake fiercely.

"Looks like everyone's happy," I said in contentment, turning to hug Riley.

"Next Saturday then! I'll text you anyway," Anna said excitedly to Seth.

"Goodbye Anna. Until Saturday." He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. She bit down on her lip shyly, and then seemed to come to a decision. She went onto her tiptoes, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed his surprised lips. Seth bent down slightly and kissed her back, and for one second I swear her feet were off the ground. I looked at Riley and we shared a smile. When they pulled apart, both smiling, they were panting, and looking deeply into each other's eyes.

"Anna! We have to leave now!" A voice called from behind us.

"Uh, sorry, that's my Dad," Anna motioned behind her, "So, I guess I'll see you later. Bye, Seth. It was great meeting you." She gave him a smile and a wave, and Seth watched her leave. When she was out of sight, he exhaled sharply, nodding his head slowly, looking pleased with himself.

"Hey Mr. Smooth," Jake said to him. Seth punched his arm playfully, to which Jake just laughed.

"Don't pay any attention to him, Seth. He's just jealous," Nessie said. Jake looked at her and said,

"Jealous of what? I have my own beautiful girl right here. Oh, I mean, my fiancée."

"Your fian-what? You're...oh my god! Congrats, guys!" Seth said, enveloping both Jake and Nessie in a big hug. Riley looked at me then, and gave me a hug too.

"Let's go back to the car. We've got a lot to tell everyone back home," he said. We walked; Riley and I hand in hand, Nessie and Jake with their arms around each other, Seth on the phone laughing, through the small forest.

"Ow!" I shouted, clutching my stomach.

"What is it? Leah, what's wrong?" Riley asked worriedly. The others stopped walking and quickly ran to me.

"It's, it's-Ouch!" My knees buckled and Riley caught me. He knelt on the ground, me half lying on the ground, half sprawled across him.

"Oh god, oh, it hurts. Ah, make it stop, please! It _hurts_!" I shrieked. It felt like something was slicing my insides with a red-hot knife, and tears poured down my face as I cried out in agony. With one final scream, I closed my eyes and drifted.

**OH LA LA! Suspenseful much? Don't worry, all shall be explained in the next chapter. Which I shall upload...soon. MUAHAHAA. (Evil laugh.) Okay, I'll be quiet now. Please tell me what you think. **


	12. Chapter 12

**I am aware that this chapter is VERY SHORT. However, I will be posting another update very soon, since I feel bad for giving you such a short chapter. Enjoy! (Or not...)**

Chapter twelve: "Please don't go."

My eyelids felt like lead, and I could barely open them. The first thing I heard was Riley's voice up above me, sounding worried. Why did he sound worried? Then it all came back to me; the pain, the screaming. Suddenly, another stab at my insides. I clutched at my stomach again, feeling pain everywhere.

"What can we do?" Nessie asked.

"I don't _know_!" Riley cried out. I screamed again, rolling over onto my side. The pain subsided for a minute, and I fell back, exhausted. All of a sudden, the worst pain yet soared through my stomach, the agony so great I couldn't even scream. My stomach felt like it was being sliced open. I looked down weakly at my stomach, and felt something moving viciously inside it. I was astonished to see my stomach actually move very slightly. Before I could even digest the fact that something was moving inside my own stomach, it tore open with a sickening squelching sound, taking my breath away, and making me want to scream. My heart started working in overdrive, and I took quick breaths. Something small was actually _moving, _and clawing its way out of my body. I stared down at it in horror, at the small creature that had been growing inside me. It turned to look at me, and it astonished me that it had the exact same eyes as me. Riley gasped, and I opened my mouth in understanding. That tiny creature who had been living inside me was my _child. _Suddenly, it all made sense; the fainting, the vomiting, the eating, not being able to phase, the mood swings. How could I not have noticed? I tried to move, but I couldn't. Riley looked at the baby in disgust, and shook his head, saying,

"No. No way. It just doesn't make sense. It's impossible." I tried to smile, but failed, feeling lightheaded, but tried my hardest to speak, croaking,

"R-R-Riley. He's our son. Let's...call him Harry. After m-my Dad." Riley continued to look disgusted, and I continued, "Let m-me see him." Riley sat still, and Seth caught my eye. He took a deep breath and reached towards the little baby, who was snuffling quietly. Seth gingerly picked him up, and moved closer to my face. I looked at my baby in adoration. His skin was slightly tan, but somehow had this luminescent glow. His eyes, the same shape and colour as my own, stared at me intelligently. His lips were definitely Riley's, and he had the same high cheekbones, I could tell. I managed a small smile, and then everything started to become dark. I blinked slowly, trying to rid my eyes of the dark film that covered them. Seth moved away from me with the baby, and I wondered where he had gone.

"Riley, listen. Her heartbeat." Jake's voice said. Everything was silent for a moment, as everyone listened to my faltering heartbeat.

"No, no, _no_!" Riley shouted. He started to pump my chest, trying to force out a heartbeat. I closed my eyes, and he shook my shoulders, saying, "Don't close your eyes! Stay with me, Leah!" I tried to listen to him, but it was really difficult. I could feel myself becoming weaker with each shallow breath I took. The enormity of the situation hit me with a jolt. I whispered,

"Look after him, Riley. He'll need a Dad." Riley shook his head, crying tearless sobs.

"I-I-I will. I promise. Now, you stay with me, Leah. He's not the only one who needs you. _I _need you. I can't live without you. Leah, open your eyes! For me. I love you. Don't leave me. Please don't go." He leaned in and kissed my shivering lips. I closed my eyes, enjoying his familiar taste and feel. With the hugest effort, I opened my eyes, and smiled against his lips.

"I'm sorry. I'll always love you Riley." I took one more breath, and the last thing I saw was Riley's beautiful, exquisite face, his golden eyes revealing his glorious soul, boring into mine.

His eyes are what keep me going throughout this eternity. It's lonely up here. But I don't mind, because I can still dream. I dream of Riley, of happy times, of what could have been. I dream of how Harry grows up, and it fills me with sadness to know I won't be able to see the man he becomes. It is upsetting to know that I won't be able to hear him say his first word, to watch him take his first steps, to send him off to university, knowing that I have done a good job with him. But I know that Riley will take care of him, because I asked him to, and he promised. Riley will be a good father, I know it. I miss him terribly. I hope he can move on. I will never forget him.

I love you Riley; my soul, my heart, my love.

**Feel free to hate me. I will not be at all offended. And please write reviews. If you hated this chapter, then say so. I would be proud if I made my readers feel **_**something**_**, even if it is hatred. Personally, I love happy endings, so I was kind of surprised at myself for giving you guys such a sad ending. This was so sad to write, and I tried to get it just right. Tell me what you think. Should I have gone into more detail? Should I have been more...profound? Anyway, I am going to do ONE MORE CHAPTER, just so you can see what happens. An epilogue type thing. Well, tell me if you want me to write an epilogue; I have ideas but if no one's going to read it then there's no point, haha. (It's not actually funny. :P) Also, if you review, pleeeease say more than a few words; I would like to know how to improve for my next story. And yes, there will be another story. Which will most probably have a happy ending, I'm sure you'll be pleased to know. Okay, this is a HUGE comment thingy, so I'll stop now and let you review. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed; it makes my day every time I see a nice comment. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Still hate me for last chapter? Sorry. **** I just felt it was necessary. Anyway, this is, sadly, MY FINAL CHAPTER! I KNOW RIGHT? I'll let you read, and then I'll babble a bit more at the end. Have fun!**

Chapter thirteen: "Love you. Too much."

Riley's hands frantically pumped Leah's dying heart, not stopping until Seth, his eyes full of tears, placed his own hands on Riley's shoulder and whispered,

"Riley. She's- she- she's gone." Slowly, Riley's hands moved to a stop. He stared at the body of the woman he loved, still beneath his hands. She looked peaceful, as if she was just sleeping. Riley sat there, shaking, crying tearless sobs. Seth sat by his sister's feet, sobbing, while Jacob stood with his arm around Nessie's waist, both crying silently. Suddenly, the baby, forgotten for a while, started to cry. Riley's head shot up, and he spat,

"Get that thing away from me." Alarmed, Nessie replied,

"But, Riley, he's your son." Shaking his head in disgust, Riley shot back,

"Not now, not ever. He killed her. He is _nothing _to me." Nessie's eyebrows rose in shock, and she walked slowly away with the little baby in her arms, Jake following behind her, looking shaken. All was silent in the clearing. Seth sat next to his sister's body for a while, until, his eyes sore from crying, he squeezed her hands, stood up, and whispered,

"I'm sorry sis. Love you." And walked away, still sobbing. Riley sat next to Leah for who knows how long. He spoke to her quietly, half expecting her to open her eyes and say, "Why are you talking to yourself, you big idiot?" He told her all of his memories of time with her, his feelings, his thoughts, but still she wouldn't wake up. He lay down next to her, for once her body feeling slightly cool. He held her hand and looked up at the sun through the trees. He closed his eyes, and it felt no different to when he lay next to her while she was asleep, except that her heart didn't beat, her lungs didn't search for air, her eyelids didn't flutter. Her dark hair was fanned out over her shoulders, flowing over her wedding dress. He sat up once more, and looked at her peaceful face. Her lips were parted slightly, and he softly kissed them, wishing they would respond. He stroked her face and whispered,

"I love you Leah; my heart, my soul, my love."

The funeral would have been quite a contented affair had it not been for such a miserable reason. Everybody put their differences aside and was on their best behaviour for the occasion. Vampires and werewolves alike mourned for the loss of their friend and sister. Sam and Emily were there; Sam almost inconsolable, Emily comforting him. Nessie's head was buried in Jacob's shoulder, and he held her there, both of them crying. Seth and Anna stood hand in hand, Seth's eyes glistening. Anna knew everything now; about the wolves, the vampires, the legends. Edward moved silently to where Riley stood, alone. After a while, Riley said,

"I can't do it." Edward swallowed, and said,

"What can't you do?" Riley, his brow furrowed, replied matter-of-factly,

"Live. Survive. Carry on." Edward took a deep breath, and answered simply,

"But you have to."

"You see, that's the thing; I _don't _have to. I have nothing to live for now she's gone. For a while, when she was alive, my heart actually felt like it was beating again. But then...She broke my heart. And she took some of it with her, wherever she is right now."

"What about Harry?" Edward enquired.

"Who?" Riley asked indifferently, to which Edward replied,

"Your son, Riley." Riley spun around and took Edward by the throat, and he spat,

"Don't ever mention that thing again. I _hate _it." He released Edward, who rubbed his neck, his eyebrows drawn in confusion. Taking a deep breath, he challenged,

"He needs you. And you need him. Leah wanted you to look after him, and, since it was her final wish, I think that you should fulfil it." He walked away from Riley, who stood; shoulders slumped, looking defeated and vulnerable. The wolf pack moved towards the forest, and then they phased, and every one of them howled in mourning, raking the ground with the claws. Riley looked at them, saw their love for Leah, and then he saw, just to the right of them, Bella, holding a small baby. The baby looked up as if it felt someone watching him, and blinked carefully. Riley saw Leah in the baby's eyes, and in that second, he knew he would take care of Harry, because after all, he had promised.

"Dad! Look at me!"

"In a second."

"But look! I'm at the top of the tree!"

"What?" Riley's head whipped round, and he saw his son clinging happily to a branch at the top of a large fir tree.

"Woo! I can see _everything _from up here!"

"Harry Biers. Come down right now," Riley called sternly.

"Hey, a bird! Hello bird! Hey, stop it, come back. Are you ignoring me, mister bird?"

"Being ignored. Can't imagine how _that _would feel," Riley muttered sarcastically. He took a deep breath and said, "If you don't come down here right now, then I will come up there and bring you down myself." Harry finally looked at Riley, and cocked his head to one side in a way that was so _Leah_, it gave Riley a jolt. He replied mischievously,

"Nope." Leah's stubbornness too, had also been passed to Harry, along with her daring sense of adventure, as the whole tree climbing thing proved.

"Have it your way then," Riley said, and at superhuman speed, he began to climb the tree. Harry giggled and tried to run away along the branch, and although he was fast, he wasn't fast enough. He reached the end of the branch and stopped. Riley was at the start of the branch, arms folded, looking totally comfortable.

"Are you going to come down?" He asked. Harry took another tentative step back, and then, looking at his father with the eyes that were so like his mother's, said,

"Yep. Just let me..." And he jumped off the branch with a twirl, and landed lightly on the ground a few seconds later. Riley's eyes opened wide; he hated it when Harry did things like that. He knew that Harry probably wouldn't hurt himself, but the risk was still there. Harry's physical ability was more vampire than werewolf, but he could still bleed and cry. His teeth were sharp, and definitely more 'vampirish'. He grew at a slightly faster rate than a normal human, but not as fast as Nessie did. Since it was pretty certain that no other child like Harry existed, it was difficult to tell what the future may hold for him. However, it was assumed that he would live a life just as Nessie had, where he would reach full maturity at some point, and from then on would stop growing. He was about the size of an average nine year old, although he was slightly bulkier, and it worried Riley, because there had been discussions saying that when Harry hit puberty he would turn into a werewolf. Riley cringed inside at the thought of his already mischievous child going through a werewolf-adolescence. Seth had been a great help with raising Harry, and sometimes, when Harry did something so incredibly 'Leah-like', Seth and Riley would exchange a look in amazement. Riley shook his head, and jumped lithely off the branch, landing with a small thud on the forest floor. He stood still, thinking about Leah. Harry turned around and walked towards his father. He stood in front of Riley and said,

"Did I make you mad?" Riley looked down at Harry, a smile on his face, and replied,

"No. I was just...thinking."

"About...Mom?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah," Riley whispered. Harry nodded, his eyes glistening with tears. Riley wrapped his arms around his son and said,

"Don't cry."

"But it's my fault. It's my fault she's not here."

"No, no it's not! Trust me. It was...nothing could be done."

"I wish I could have met her. Even only once. Just to see what she's like."

"You only have to look in the mirror to see what she was like. She was very similar to you. She was kind, and strong, and stubborn, and adventurous, and I loved her very much. Just like you."

"Do you miss her a lot?"

"Yes, I do. But sometimes I can imagine her being here, what she would say, how she would act. And now I have you. So, it's not all bad."

"I guess," Harry replied.

"Come on, let's go home," Riley announced. And so they raced each other back to their little wooden house, set in the depths of St. David's forest.

_**THE END.**_

**Hello everybody! How did you like the story? Please, if I could ask one thing; if you review this chapter, could you also write a little comment about how you felt about the whole story? MERCI. :D Um, I can't believe I have finally finished my story! I think this might be the first story I have ever finished writing! I am amazed at myself! So, this had kind of a happy ending, as you saw, so I didn't COMPLETELY make it miserable. It's taken me about five months to write this, I think, so AHHHH. I am DEFINITELY going to write another story, as I enjoy it so much. I have three big ideas, and I shall tell you them, because I feel like telling you:**

**A Jacob and Nessie story (Will probably start that soon.)**

**A Seth and Anna story (As recommended by one of my readers. **** Will probably be a shorter story, but still a few chapters hopefully.)**

**A Vampire Diaries story (I am OBSESSED with this show. Need to find an actual idea for a story though...)**

**By the way, AT LEAST ONE of these stories ^^ will have a happy ending, I'm going to make sure of that. I need to make a nice happy bubble around myself before I start writing sad endings again. Okay, I'm sure you've read enough of my random babblings to last you a lifetime, so I shall stop now, and let you get on with your lives.**

**Before I go, I just want to say:**

**I have ideas for stories, so WATCH THIS SPACE.**

**And, THANKYOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR KIND REVIEWS, I CAN TELL YOU THAT THEY HONESTLY MADE ME HAPPY WHEN I READ THEM. KEEP REVIEWING, KEEP READING...AND SO...I BID YOU ADIEU. **

**PS. I like talking in CAPS. I shout in my head when I read it. ;)**


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